Rotational Trough Reflector Array With Solid Optical Element For Solar-Electricity Generation
First Claim
1. An apparatus for solar-energy collection comprising:
- a first trough reflector including;
a single-piece, solid optical element having a predominately flat upper aperture surface and a convex lower surface disposed opposite to the upper aperture surface;
a mirror that is conformally disposed on the convex lower surface, wherein the convex lower surface and mirror are arranged such that sunlight passing through the flat upper aperture surface is reflected and focused by the mirror onto a linear region of the upper aperture surface;
a linear solar-energy collection element fixedly disposed to receive the focused light reflected by the mirror; and
means for rotating the first trough reflector around an axis, wherein the axis is non-parallel to the upper aperture surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A rotational trough reflector solar-electricity generation device includes a trough reflector that rotates around a substantially vertical axis and includes a solid optical element having a linear parabolic convex surface that serves as a base for automatically positioning a mirror to focus sunlight onto a focal line, and a flat aperture surface that serves to support a strip-type photovoltaic (PV) receiver on the focal line. A tracking system rotates the trough reflector such that the trough reflector is aligned generally parallel to the incident sunlight (e.g., in a generally east-west direction at sunrise, turning to generally north-south at noon, and turning generally west-east at sunset). A disc-shaped support structure is used to distribute the reflector'"'"'s weight over a larger area and to minimize the tracking system motor size. Multiple trough reflectors are mounted on the disc-shaped support to maximize power generation.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for solar-energy collection comprising:
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a first trough reflector including; a single-piece, solid optical element having a predominately flat upper aperture surface and a convex lower surface disposed opposite to the upper aperture surface; a mirror that is conformally disposed on the convex lower surface, wherein the convex lower surface and mirror are arranged such that sunlight passing through the flat upper aperture surface is reflected and focused by the mirror onto a linear region of the upper aperture surface; a linear solar-energy collection element fixedly disposed to receive the focused light reflected by the mirror; and means for rotating the first trough reflector around an axis, wherein the axis is non-parallel to the upper aperture surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for generating solar-electricity using a first trough reflector, wherein the first trough reflector includes a single-piece, solid optical element having a predominately flat upper aperture surface and a convex lower surface disposed opposite to the upper aperture surface, a linear solar-energy collection element, and a mirror that is conformally disposed on the convex lower surface, wherein the convex lower surface and mirror are arranged such that sunlight passing through the flat upper aperture surface is reflected and focused by the mirror onto the linear solar-energy collection element, the method comprising:
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disposing the first trough reflector on a planar support surface such that the linear solar-energy collection element defines an angle relative to the planar support surface; and rotating the first trough reflector around an axis that is substantially perpendicular to the planar support surface, whereby the linear solar-energy collection element remains disposed at said angle relative to said planar surface while said first trough reflector rotates around said axis.
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Specification