Batteries: thermoelectric and photoelectric – Photoelectric – Cells
Patent
1996-05-02
1998-07-21
Weisstuch, Aaron
Batteries: thermoelectric and photoelectric
Photoelectric
Cells
136256, 257435, 437 2, 437225, H01L 31055, H01L 3118
Patent
active
057829950
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a solar battery device that uses light as an energy source and a method of manufacturing the same.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Solar cells fabricated by processing single crystal silicon, polycrystalline silicon or amorphous silicon have been used as energy sources for driving various apparatuses including watches, desk calculators and radios.
When installing solar batteries in such apparatuses, the conventional solar batteries must be set exposed to view, so that the color of the solar batteries visible from the outside has had an adverse effect on the design of the apparatuses. The use of solar batteries places restrictions particularly on the design of decorative apparatuses, such as watches, and thus the value of the product is affected greatly by the use of solar batteries. Accordingly, improvements in solar batteries have been eagerly desired.
Techniques proposed to meet such demand for improvement are proposed in JP-A No. (5-29641, in which a color filter or a colored layer that transmits only light of wavelengths in a specific wavelength range are placed in front of a solar battery in order to conceal the solar battery.
However, a color filter placed in front of a solar battery absorbs incident radiant energy thereby reducing the amount of radiation energy that reaches the solar battery. Consequently, it is very difficult to conceal the solar battery from view while supplying sufficient radiant energy necessary for power generation to the solar battery.
When the colored layer proposed in JP-A No. 5-29641 is employed, it is possible to conceal the solar battery from view while supplying sufficient radiant energy to the solar battery. However, the aesthetic appearance of the product employing the colored layer is not necessarily satisfactory, because the colored layer has a cloudy, lightly reflective color in order to give priority to concealing the solar battery and hence the colored layer places restrictions on the design of the product.
The present invention has been made in view of such technical circumstances and it is therefore an object of the present invention to conceal a solar battery from view while supplying sufficient radiant energy to the solar battery, to enable the use of a variety of colors and to enable diversification of the design of products.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
With the foregoing object in view, a first solar battery device in accordance with the present invention comprises a screening layer disposed so as to overlie a solar battery to diffuse light reflected from the solar battery so that the quantity of the light reflected from the solar battery is reduced; an optical member disposed so as to overlie the screening layer to transmit only wavelengths of the light in a predetermined wavelength range at a predetermined transmittance; and a diffusing layer disposed so as to overlie the optical member to diffuse the outgoing light reflected from the optical member.
The optical member may consist of, for example, an interference filter layer.
The desired wavelength range of the transmittance of the interference filter layer can be obtained by using a material having a larger refractive index and a material having a smaller refractive index in combination and determining the number and optical thicknesses of the component layers. Expression of diversified colors of different lightnesses, saturations, and hues can be realized by setting the wavelength range of transmittance in a visible range.
The optical member may be a high refractive index layer formed of a material having a large refractive index.
The high refractive index layer exhibits a reflectance at the interface between the high refractive index layer and a medium due to the difference in refractive index between the layer and the medium. For example, in the interface between the high refractive index layer and air, the greater the refractive index of the high refractive index layer, the greater is the reflectance. Therefore, the high refractive index layer i
Murata Yasushi
Nanya Takanori
Citizen Watch Co. Ltd.
Weisstuch Aaron
LandOfFree
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