PLANAR OPTICAL MODULE FOR TRACKING AND COLLIMATING INCIDENT LIGHT

• US 20180306950A1
• Filed: 11/17/2016
• Published: 10/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Insolight SA
• Original Assignee: Insolight SA
• Inventors: ACKERMANN, Mathieu, COULOT, Laurent, GERLICH, Florian
• Granted Patent: US 10,641,929 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: F24S 23/31 having discontinuous faces, e.g. Fresnel lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/30 Collimators
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 3/0062 Stacked lens arrays, i.e. refractive surfaces arranged in at least two planes, without structurally separate optical elements in-between
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0011 the light guides being planar or of plate-like form
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0066 characterised by the light source being coupled to the light guide
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0543 comprising light concentrating means of the refractive type, e.g. lenses
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0547 comprising light concentrating means of the reflecting type, e.g. parabolic mirrors, concentrators using total internal reflection
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/40 Solar thermal energy, e.g. solar towers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/52 PV systems with concentrators

Abstract

Planar optical module (100, 100′) for capturing, converging and collimating incident light (3, 3′) with a variable incident direction comprising: —a first optical arrangement (10) with an optical layer able to converge the incident light-beam (3, 3′), forming thereby a converging light-beam (4, 4′) and —a second optical arrangement (20) placed downstream said first optical arrangement (10), said second optical arrangement (20) having an optical layer collimating said converging light-beam(s) (4, 4′), forming thereby a collimated and concentrated beam (5, 5′), wherein the first and second optical arrangements (10, 20) are movable one relative to the other such that the relative position of first and second optical arrangements (10, 20) allows said collimated and concentrated beam (5, 5′) to have an orientation which is, in a plane perpendicular to the main plane (P) of the planar optical module (100, 100′), predetermined, fixed and independent from the direction of the incident light (3, 3′). Preferentially, the first optical arrangement (10) comprises two optical layers (11, 12) movable one relative to the other, the second optical arrangement (20) comprises either an optical layer formed by one or a plurality of reflective elements (26, 27) having a concave surface or comprises only one optical layer with variable refractive-index elements (23) or with fluorescent dyes (25).

Claims

1. A planar optical module for capturing, converging and collimating incident light with a variable incident direction comprising:

a first optical arrangement with at least one optical layer able to converge the beam of said incident light, forming thereby at least one converging light beam, and

a second optical arrangement placed downstream the first optical arrangement, said second optical arrangement having at least one optical layer able to collimate said converging light beam(s), forming thereby at least one collimated and concentrated beam;

wherein the first and second optical arrangements are moveable one relative to the other such that the relative position of first and second optical arrangements allows said collimated and concentrated beam(s) to have an orientation which is, in at least in one plane perpendicular to the main plane (P) of the planar optical module, predetermined, fixed and independent from the direction of the incident light.

2. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the first and second optical arrangements are parallel to each other.

3. The optical module according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined fixed orientation of the collimated converged beam is orthogonal to said main plane (P) of the planar optical module.

4. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein said first optical arrangement comprises only one optical layer formed by lenses with at least one convex surface.

5. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein said first optical arrangement comprises two optical layers moveable one relative to the other.

6. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein said second optical arrangement comprises only one optical layer formed by lenses with at least one concave surface.

7. The optical module (100, 100′

) according to claim 1, wherein said first optical arrangement comprises only one optical layer formed by lenses with at least one convex surface, wherein said second optical arrangement comprises only one optical layer formed by lenses with at least one concave surface, and wherein said first optical arrangement and second optical arrangement are moveable one relative to the other only in a plane parallel to said main plane (P) of the planar optical module.

9. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein said second optical arrangement comprises at least one optical layer formed by one or a plurality of reflective elements with a least one concave surface.

10. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein said second optical arrangement comprises only one optical layer with variable refractive index optical elements or with fluorescent dyes.

11. The optical module according to claim 5, wherein each optical layer of the first optical arrangement is horizontally moveable one relative to the other, and is also horizontally moveable one relative to the second optical arrangement.

12. The optical module according to claim 5, wherein said first optical arrangement comprises a first optical layer formed by plano-convex lenses with the convex face turned upstream, and a second optical layer which is formed by plano-convex lenses with the convex face turned downstream.

13. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the optical layer(s) of said first optical arrangement and the optical layer(s) of second optical arrangement comprise(s) an array of singular optical elements.

15. The optical module according to claim 13, wherein said singular optical elements have a square or a hexagonal outline shape.

16. The optical module according to claim 13, where the size of the optical elements of said second optical arrangement is smaller than the size of the optical elements of said first optical arrangement.

17. The optical module according to claim 12, wherein the aspect ratio between lens thickness and lens diameter is preferably comprised between 1.2 and 0.3.

18. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein several collimated and concentrated beams are formed at the output of said optical module which are separated light beams with a higher irradiance than the incident light.

20. The optical module according to claim 1, wherein the optical layer(s) of said first optical arrangement and the optical layer(s) of said second optical arrangement comprise an array of cylindrical optical elements with an axis of the cylinder which is parallel to the main plane.

8. (canceled)

14. (canceled)

19. (canceled)

21. (canceled)

22. (canceled)

23. An optical system for capturing, converging and collimating incident light, comprising:

at least one planar optical module, the at least one planar optical module comprising;

a first optical arrangement with at least one optical layer able to converge the beam of said incident light and form at least one converging light beam, and

a second optical arrangement placed downstream from the first optical arrangement, said second optical arrangement having at least one optical layer constructed and arranged to collimate said at least one converging light beam to obtain a corresponding at least one collimated and concentrated beam, wherein the first and second optical arrangements are moveable relative to one another in manner such that a given relative position of the first and second optical arrangements allows said at least one collimated and concentrated beam to have an orientation which is, in a plane perpendicular to the main plane (P) of the planar optical module, predetermined, fixed, and independent from the direction of the incident light; and

an optical concentrator placed downstream of said at least one optical module.

24. (canceled)

25. (canceled)

26. (canceled)

27. A planar optical module for capturing, converging and collimating an incident light having a variable incident direction, comprising:

a first optical arrangement comprising a single optical layer formed by an array of lenses with at least one convex surface and being constructed and arranged to converge said incident light, forming thereby at least one converging light beam; and

a second optical arrangement placed downstream of the first optical arrangement, said second optical arrangement having at least one optical layer comprising an array of singular optical elements and being constructed and arranged to collimate said at least one converging light beam, forming thereby at least one collimated and concentrated beam;

wherein the first and second optical arrangements are parallel to each other and are moveable one relative to the other such that the relative position of first and second optical arrangements allows said at least one collimated and concentrated beam to have an orientation which is orthogonal to said main plane (P) of the planar optical module, wherein the size of the optical elements of said second optical arrangement is smaller than the size of the optical elements of said first optical arrangement.

28. A planar optical module according to claim 27, wherein said first optical arrangement comprises a single optical layer formed by an array of biconvex lenses having an hexagonal outline shape.