Liquid-cooled sealed enclosure for concentrator solar cell and secondary lens
US4830678A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 1, 1987 |
| Grant date | May 16, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 1, 2007 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E10/52
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
The sealed enclosure for an electrical power generation solar concentrator holds and protects the photovoltaic cell from ambient conditions and thermal shock, while multiple fingers of front and rear electrical contact terminals accommodate thermal expansion and contraction of the cell and minimize mechanical stresses on the cell. This sealed enclosure also holds the secondary lens and protects the internally reflective truncated conical rear surface of the lens. A base member has a socket for receiving the cell and its associated front and rear terminal members together with an insulator alignment disc having an opening receiving the cell and for aligning the cell with the axis of the concentrator. A front housing removably screws onto the base member with an inturned front lip gripping a peripheral flange on the secondary lens, thereby aligning it with the cell and firmly pressing it against the cell front for causing thermal mass and inertial of the lens to moderate temperature changes in the cell. The base member screws onto a pedestal of a finned heat sink of good thermal conductivity fitting into a pre-punched hole in a panel of the concentrator, thus aligning the sealed encl…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.