Motion-free tracking solar concentrator
First Claim
1. An optical concentrator for concentrating light from a moving light source comprising:
- a) a substantially transparent sheet made from a material having a substantially constant refractive index;
b) wherein said substantially transparent sheet has a series of grooves formed in a face, said series of grooves defining a groove array;
c) wherein said groove array is filled with a layer of substantially transparent material having an electrically changeable refractive index when an electromagnetic field is applied thereto, said layer of substantially transparent material being defined as an active layer;
d) a means for applying an electromagnetic field having a changeable strength to said active layer;
e) a means for controlling the strength of said electromagnetic field;
f) an optical condenser, positioned in optical communication with said substantially transparent sheet and said active layer;
g) wherein light from a light source interacts with said substantially transparent sheet and said active layer and said optical condenser such that said light is concentrated in a localized region of space.
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Accused Products
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.
153 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An optical concentrator for concentrating light from a moving light source comprising:
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a) a substantially transparent sheet made from a material having a substantially constant refractive index; b) wherein said substantially transparent sheet has a series of grooves formed in a face, said series of grooves defining a groove array; c) wherein said groove array is filled with a layer of substantially transparent material having an electrically changeable refractive index when an electromagnetic field is applied thereto, said layer of substantially transparent material being defined as an active layer; d) a means for applying an electromagnetic field having a changeable strength to said active layer; e) a means for controlling the strength of said electromagnetic field; f) an optical condenser, positioned in optical communication with said substantially transparent sheet and said active layer; g) wherein light from a light source interacts with said substantially transparent sheet and said active layer and said optical condenser such that said light is concentrated in a localized region of space. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification