Hybrid primary optical component for optical concentrators
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A hybrid, concentrating optical component, comprising:
- i. an aperture;
ii. a reflective optical element that collects and focuses light onto a first target for a first portion of the aperture; and
iii. a refractive optical element that collects and focuses light onto a second target for a second portion of the aperture,wherein at least one of the first and second targets is an aperture of one or more secondary optics.
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Abstract
A hybrid optical component that collects and concentrates incident light. The hybrid component includes both refractive and reflective elements. In preferred embodiments, refractive and reflective components focus rays on a common focal plane generally located at the bottom of the reflector where they are absorbed by a device such as a photovoltaic (solar) cell. Additionally, the optical component combines both imaging and non-imaging optical elements into a single device, for improved overall performance.
151 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A hybrid, concentrating optical component, comprising:
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i. an aperture; ii. a reflective optical element that collects and focuses light onto a first target for a first portion of the aperture; and iii. a refractive optical element that collects and focuses light onto a second target for a second portion of the aperture, wherein at least one of the first and second targets is an aperture of one or more secondary optics. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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11. A hybrid, concentrating optical component, comprising:
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i. an aperture; ii. a reflective optical element that collects and focuses light onto a first target for a first portion of the aperture; and iii. a refractive optical element that collects and focuses light onto a second target for a second portion of the aperture, wherein the refractive element comprises a fresnel lens. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 27, 28, 29)
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22. A hybrid, concentrating optical component, comprising:
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i. an aperture; ii. a reflective optical element that collects and focuses light onto a first target for a first portion of the aperture. wherein said reflective optical element comprises first and second reflective optical elements, each element collecting and concentrating incident light for respective portions of the first portion of the aperture; and iii. a refractive optical element that collects and focuses light onto a second target for a second portion of the aperture. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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23. A hybrid, concentrating optical component, comprising:
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i. an aperture; ii. a reflective optical element that collects and focuses light onto a first target for a first portion of the aperture, wherein the reflective optical element comprises a plurality of facets; and iii. a refractive optical element that collects and focuses light onto a second target for a second portion of the aperture. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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24. A hybrid, concentrating optical component, comprising:
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i. an aperture; ii. a reflective optical element that collects and focuses light onto a first target for a first portion of the aperture; iii. a refractive optical element that collects and focuses light onto a second target for a second portion of the aperture; and iv. a path for diffuse radiation to reach a target surface. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification