Motion-free tracking solar concentrator
US6958868B1 · kind B1 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 29, 2004 |
| Grant date | Oct 25, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 28, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02E10/52
- WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An integrated solar concentrator and tracker is constructed from a beam deflector for unpolarized light in combination with a fixed optical condenser. The one-dimensional beam deflector consists of a pair of prism arrays made from a material whose refractive index can be varied by applying an electric field. Two of the one-dimensional concentrators can be arranged with their faces in contact and with their prism arrays perpendicular to construct a two-dimensional beam deflector. The intensity and distribution of an applied field modifies the refractive index of the individual prisms in order to keep direction of the deflected beam fixed as the incident beam shifts. When the beam deflector is used with the fixed concentrator the result is that the position of the focus remains fixed as the source moves.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.