Stoves and furnaces – Solar heat collector – With control means energized in response to actuator...
Patent
1999-06-18
2000-10-17
Yeung, James C.
Stoves and furnaces
Solar heat collector
With control means energized in response to actuator...
680692, F24J 238
Patent
active
061315656
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a solar energy collector system and, in particular, to a system which includes receivers which function to absorb solar radiation and reflectors which are arranged to reflect incident solar radiation toward the receivers. The invention is hereinafter described largely in the context of a collector system which employs receivers that incorporate evacuated tube-type collector elements which function to convert the energy content of incident solar radiation into thermal energy and to transfer the thermal energy to heat exchange fluid. However, it will be understood that the invention does have broader application, for example to systems which include receivers in the form of inverted cavity collectors and photovoltaic cells.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A collector system of the type with which the present invention is concerned is referred to as a Fresnel reflector system and, depending upon its configuration, may be considered as an analogue of a parabolic dish or a linear parabolic trough. When configured as an analogue of a parabolic trough, the collector system comprises receivers which are supported by vertical masts and which are orientated or arrayed to form a linearly extending target. The reflectors are positioned slightly above ground level and are arrayed over an area that is selected to provide reflection of radiation toward the target receivers. The arrayed reflectors are orientated to reflect radiation toward one target, and the reflectors are pivotably mounted and coupled to provide for synchronised single-axis tracking.
The above described Fresnel reflector system permits the use of a large scale target and provides for low construction costs relative to those that would be incurred in equivalent size parabolic trough or dish collector systems. However, a problem that is inherent in the use of ground arrayed reflectors is that shading occurs as a consequence of radiation blockage.
A solution to this problem is disclosed in International Patent Application No. PCT/AU96/00177, dated Mar. 28 1996, lodged in the name of The University of Sydney as assignee of the present Inventor and subsequently assigned to the present Applicant. The referenced International Application has been published under number WO96/30705, and it discloses a collector system which comprises at least one group of arrayed reflectors and at least two target receiver systems associated with the or each group of reflectors. Individual reflectors within the or each group are normally orientated toward one or the other of the associated receiver systems, and at least some of the reflectors within the or each group are pivotable to an extent such that they may be re-orientated to shift the direction of reflected radiation from one to the other of the receiver systems.
In use of the system as disclosed in the referenced publication, a determination is made from time-to-time as to which reflectors should be orientated toward the respective receiver systems for the purpose of minimising shading, and individual reflectors (or sub-groups of the reflectors) are pivoted to meet the orientation requirements.
However, having developed the collector system as disclosed in the referenced International Patent Application in an attempt to achieve optimum collector efficiency, it has since been determined by the Inventor that near-optimum performance may be achieved by establishing two sub-groups of reflectors, by orientating all of the reflectors within the respective sub-groups toward respective ones of the receiver systems, and by pivoting a majority at least of the reflectors through the same angle whilst maintaining orientation of the reflectors within the respective sub-groups toward the respective ones of the receiver systems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention may be defined broadly as providing a solar energy collector system which includes at least one group of arrayed reflectors and at least two spaced-apart target receiver systems associated with the or each group o
REFERENCES:
patent: 3986021 (1976-10-01), Hitchcock
patent: 4044753 (1977-08-01), Fletcher
patent: 4120282 (1978-10-01), Espy
patent: 4137897 (1979-02-01), Moore
patent: 4223664 (1980-09-01), Fattor
patent: 4474173 (1984-10-01), Ford
patent: 4602853 (1986-07-01), Barr
patent: 5309893 (1994-05-01), Yeomans
patent: 5899199 (1999-05-01), Mills
Stanwell Corporation Limited
Yeung James C.
LandOfFree
Solar energy collector system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Solar energy collector system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Solar energy collector system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-459001