Film sheet for area focusing of sun light and greenhouse provided with the same

• US 8,296,994 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2010
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
• Original Assignee: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
• Inventors: Kim, Seong-Il, Choi, Won-Jun, Han, Il-Ki, Lee, Jung-Il
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TRINH T
• Application Number:
  US12/962,724
• Publication Number:
  US 20110138688A1
• Time in Patent Office: 692 Days
• Field of Search: 47/17, 47/191, 47/201, 47/291, 47/292, 47/293, 47/294, 47D/IG.6, 136/246, 136/243, 136/259, 136/251, 136/206, 126/621, 126/622, 359/625, 359/640, 359/831, 359/834, 359/833, 359/837, 359/593, 359/591, 359/742
• US Class Current: 47/17
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 9/1438 Covering materials therefor; Materials for protective coverings used for soil and plants, e.g. films, canopies, tunnels or cloches
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 9/243 Collecting solar energy in general F24S
• CPC Class Codes: F24S 23/31 having discontinuous faces, e.g. Fresnel lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/045 Prism arrays
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 40/25 Greenhouse technology, e.g. cooling systems therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/40 Solar thermal energy, e.g. solar towers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 60/12 using renewable energies, e.g. solar water pumping

Abstract

A film sheet for area-focusing of sunlight and a greenhouse provided with the same are provided. A film sheet includes i) a film having a rectangular shape, and ii) a plurality of prism assemblies formed on one surface of the film to extend in one direction. At least one prism assembly of the plurality of prism assemblies includes i) at least one first prism unit including a plurality of first prisms with slanted angles that are substantially the same as each other, and ii) at least one second prism unit neighboring the first prism unit and including a plurality of second prisms with slanted angles that are substantially the same as each other. The width of the first prism unit is substantially the same as the width of the second prism unit and a slanted angle of one first prism among the plurality of first prisms is different from a slanted angle of one second prism among the plurality of second prisms, and light entering the prism assembly is configured to be area-focused.

Claims

1. A greenhouse comprising:

a support frame including a cover unit; and

a film sheet at least partially covering the cover unit,

wherein the film sheet includes a film and a first plurality of prism assemblies arranged on the film to neighbor each other,

wherein a selected one prism assembly of the first plurality of prism assemblies includes (a) a first prism unit including a plurality of first prisms with slanted angles that are substantially the same as each other, and (b) a second prism unit neighboring the first prism unit and including a plurality of second prisms with slanted angles that are substantially the same as each other,

wherein the film sheet includes a second plurality of prism assemblies arranged on an opposite side of the film with respect to the first plurality of prism assemblies,

wherein a selected one prism assembly of the second plurality of prism assemblies includes (a) a third prism unit including a plurality of third prisms with slanted angles that are substantially the same as each other, and (b) a fourth prism unit including a plurality of fourth prisms with slanted angles that are substantially the same as each other,

wherein a width of the first prism unit and a width of the second prism unit are substantially the same,

wherein the slanted angles of the plurality of first prisms are different from the slanted angles of the plurality of second prisms,

wherein the slanted angles of the plurality of third prisms are different from the slanted angles of the plurality of fourth prisms,

wherein the film sheet includes a first cover film at least partially covering the first plurality of prism assemblies with a substantially planar surface, and

wherein the film sheet includes a second cover film at least partially covering the second plurality of prism assemblies with a substantially planar surface, and

wherein the first plurality of prism assemblies are positioned on the film sheet so as to produce alternating elongate regions of shadow and elongate regions of focused light on a floor region of the greenhouse when the greenhouse is exposed to sunlight.

2. The greenhouse of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first prisms and the plurality of second prisms are formed to extend in a direction in which the greenhouse extends.

3. The greenhouse of claim 1, wherein the slanted angle of the plurality of second prisms is greater than the slanted angle of the plurality of first prisms.

4. The greenhouse of claim 3, wherein the number of the plurality of second prisms is greater than the number of the plurality of first prisms.

5. The greenhouse of claim 3, wherein

a height of the plurality of first prisms and a height of the plurality of second prisms are substantially the same, and

a length of slanted surfaces of the plurality of first prisms and a length of slanted surfaces of the plurality of second prisms are substantially the same.

6. The greenhouse of claim 1, wherein

the first plurality of prism assemblies are positioned on the film sheet so as to focus light incident on the film sheet onto a target focus area with substantially uniform intensity across the target focus area;

and

the selected one prism assembly of the first plurality of prism assemblies has a width that is 3 to 10 times larger than a width of the target focus area.