CA1242944A - Solar energy collecting apparatus - Google Patents
Solar energy collecting apparatusInfo
- Publication number
- CA1242944A CA1242944A CA000437287A CA437287A CA1242944A CA 1242944 A CA1242944 A CA 1242944A CA 000437287 A CA000437287 A CA 000437287A CA 437287 A CA437287 A CA 437287A CA 1242944 A CA1242944 A CA 1242944A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- heat
- lens
- solar energy
- focal point
- collecting apparatus
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
- F24S—SOLAR HEAT COLLECTORS; SOLAR HEAT SYSTEMS
- F24S23/00—Arrangements for concentrating solar-rays for solar heat collectors
- F24S23/30—Arrangements for concentrating solar-rays for solar heat collectors with lenses
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
- Y02E10/40—Solar thermal energy, e.g. solar towers
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Sustainable Development (AREA)
- Sustainable Energy (AREA)
- Thermal Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Photovoltaic Devices (AREA)
- Optical Elements Other Than Lenses (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A solar energy collecting apparatus includes a capsule made of a transparent material and a plurality of lenses enclosed in said transparent capsule and adapted to collect sunbeams. A sunbeam collecting means and heat collecting means are located at the focal point of the lens.
A photo-conductive cable transmits the sunbeam collected by said sunbeam collecting means to the desired place. A heat transmitting pipe transmits solar heat collected by the heat collecting means to the desired place.
A solar energy collecting apparatus includes a capsule made of a transparent material and a plurality of lenses enclosed in said transparent capsule and adapted to collect sunbeams. A sunbeam collecting means and heat collecting means are located at the focal point of the lens.
A photo-conductive cable transmits the sunbeam collected by said sunbeam collecting means to the desired place. A heat transmitting pipe transmits solar heat collected by the heat collecting means to the desired place.
Description
~2~
The present invention relates to a solar energy collecting apparatus comprising a capsule being made of a transparent material, plurality of lenses capsulated in said transparent capsule and collect sunbeams, a sunbeam collecting means and heat collecting means deposited at the focal point of the lens, a photo-conductive cable which transrnits the sunbeam collected by said sunbeam collecting means to the desired place and a heat transmitting pipe ~hich transmits solar heat collected by said heat collecting means to the desired place.
With advent of the energy saving era, possible effort is directed recently particularly to research and development for effective use of sunbeam energy. For the most effective use of sunbeam energy, it is a must to directly use the sunbeam energy as the light energy, namely to use the sunbeam energy without converting it to another form of energy such as heat energy and electrical energy.
Because of this, the applicant of the present invention has proposed various kinds of sunbeam collecting apparatuses where the sunbeam energy is converged using lenses etc. and then guided into a photo-conductor, thereafter transmitted through said photo-conductor to the place re~uirlng the lighting and thereby such sunbeam energy is used ~or indoor lighting etc. The present invention is also proposed as a ~ ~Æ~
part of such apparatuses and particularly an apparatus where a means for converting the sunbeam energy to heat energy is effectively employed into the aforementioned sunbeam collecting apparatus, and thereby both light energy and heat energy of the sunbeam can be used simultaneously only with a single apparatus.
The present invention provides an apparatus for eEfectively utilizing sunbeam energy by providing means for collecting effectively the light energy and heat enérgy of sunbeams in a transparent capsule.
According to the present invention, a solar energy collecting apparatus comprises a transparent capsule, a lens assembly comprising a plurality of spot focal point type lenses housed in said capsule and arranged essentially concentrically in order to converge rays of the sun; a sunlight collecting means and solar heat collecting means which are integrated into said lens assembly and provided at the focal point of said lens; a photo conductive cable for transmitting sunlight collected by sunlight collecting means to the desired place; and a heat transmitting device for transmitting the solar heat collected by said heat collecting means to the desired place, said heat collecting means being provided for at least one line of the peripheral side of said lens assembly~ and said sunliqht collecting means being provided for the remaining lenses at the central portion.
In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevation of the main ...
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part for explaining an embodiment of the solar energy collecting apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1 viewed along the line II-II of Fig. 1.
E'ig. 3 is a plan view of the main portion indicating another embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 are schematic diagrams of structure for explaining another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a front elevation. Fig. 5 is a side elevation.
Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 are outlines of the structure of the main portions indicating respectively examples of heat transmit~ing pipe suitable for use in the embodiment of -the present invention.
Fig. 8 is a transverse cross section of Fig. 7.
Fig. 9 is a transverse cross section of the main portion for explaining a modified embodiment.
Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 are sectional side elevations of main portions for explaining another e~mbodiment of the present invention.
Fig. L2 is a transverse cross section of Fig. 11.
Fig. 13 is a perspective view oE the rnain portion ~or explaining a Eurther embodiment oE the present invention.
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Fig. 14 is a transverse cross section of Fig~ 13.
Fig. 15 is a transverse cross section where a linear Fresnel lens is used.
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a side elevation of the main part of a solar energy collecting apparatus of the present invention, in other words, oE the beam collectiny and heat collecting appara-tus. Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1 viewed along the line II-II. In these Figures, 10 is a transparent capsule; 20 is a circular, square or hexagon (Fig. 2 shows hexagon shape lenses) lens assembly having the desired shape; 30 is a linear Fresnel lens. The lens assembly 20 converges the sunbeam and focuses the beam spot. Beam collecting means 21 are provided at the focal points. The linear lens 30 converges the sunbeam and focuses the beam in the form of a line. The heat collecting means 31, such as a heat pipe, is disposed along the focal line. The sunbeam energy collected by the sunbeam collecting means 21 is guided into the photo-conductive pipe 23 via the photo-conductive cables 22 and then transrnitted to the desired place via said photo-conductive pipe 23 Eor utilization in lighting or others. Meanwhile, the heat energy collected by the heat collecting means 31 is transmitted to the heat exchanger 33 via the heat transmitting pipe 32 such as a heat pipe and ~.2~2~
is used as a heat source in said heat exchanger 33.
Here, the solar energy collecting apparatus provides a solar direction detecting system not illustrated, which controls said lens system in such a way as to always direct it to the sun in order to most effectively collect the solar energy. For this object, the lens assembly consisting of the lens systems 20 and 30 is rotatable around a shaft 50 by a motor 40. The lens assembly, motor ~0 and rotating shaft 50 are supported by the supporting arm 60 in such a manner as to be freely rotatable around the rotating shaft 70. The shaft 70 crosses the rotating shaft 50 at a right angle. With this arrangement, the lens assembly is capable oE tracking automatically the movement of the sun.
The applicant of the present invention has already proposed various kinds of apparatuses for solar energy collection wherein the lens system is housed within a capsule and the lens assembly is capable of -tracking automatically the direction of the sun. However, when the lens system is accommodated in a capsule, the sunbeam direction is disturbed when the sun's rays pass through said capsule. In particular the rays enetering the peripheral part of lens assembly are reflected by said capsule because the incident angle to the capsule 10 is too large. Therefore, light having a spectrum different from that of sunbeam enters the _7_ ~2~29~
peripheral lens. ~ccordingly, if one attempts to directly use the sunbeam converged by the peripheral lens as the photo-energy, such sunbeam has a wave length different from that of the normal sunbeam. Therefore, the existing sunbeam collecting apparatus leaves the space for the lens system 30 idle. This idle space is very wide when it is totalized because such space corresponds to the peripheral part of the lens assembly and it has resulted in reduction of accommodation efficiency of lens system to the size oE the capsule or application efficiency of the sunbeam energy.
The present invention has been proposed, with the above mentioned background, in mind to effectively utilize such idle space. Namely, as explained above, the lens for collecting heat energy is provided to the peripheral part of lens assembly for beam collecting which has been the idle space in the existing apparatus. When the sunbeam collected by such lens is used after conversion into heat energy, diEference in quality of sunbeam, due to difference in wave length components of sunbeam is completely elimina-ted and the solar energy can be more effectively utilized. The heat energy thus collected is guided to the heat exchanger 33 and is used Eor well known various objects. In addition to such use, Eor example, it is also possible to heat the air within the capsule during the night in order to prevent dew condensation on the lens system and other devices within the capsule. Fig. 2 shows an example where the line focal point type linear F'resnel lens is used as the lens 30 for collecting heat energy. However, the present invention is not limited only to the above embodiment. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, it is also possible to form every lens with the point focus type lens arranged concentrically (concentrical hexagon shape in the case of Fig. 3) and to use a single line or several lines of the peripheral part of the lenses, such as the lenses 30' ror heat collection.
Moreover it is not always required to form the heat energy collecting lens 30 and beam energy collecting lens 20 in the same plane as shown in Fig. 1. For example, as shown by the dotted lines 30' and 30'' in Fig. 1, only the heat energy collecting lens can be provided at the center of the capsule. Thus, the idle space of the capsule can be used more effectively.
Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a Eront elevation of another embodiment where the lens assembly is Eormed such a way as to automatically track the movement Oe the sun. Fig. 5 is a side elevation. In the case Oe this embodiment, the motor ~0 is mounted on the supporting _9 ~.X~2~4~
arm 60. Rotation provided by the motor 40 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 50 via a gear 41. Meanwhile, rotative power provided by the motor 80 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 70 via the gear 81. The motors 40 and 80 are controlled by a detecting signal sent from a sun direction detecting apparatus (no-t illustrated) mounted integrally to the lens assembly whose sun beam receiving surface always faces to the sun.
As indicated, a heat pipe can be used as the heat transmitting pipe, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, it is also possible to use a heat transmitting pipe as shown in Fig. 6. Namely, in Fig. 6, 30 is a line focal point type linear Fresnel lens for heat energy collection (spot focal point type lens may also be used). 90 is a heat transmitting pipe arranged in such a way as to extend along the focal point of the lens 30. The heat transmitting pipe 90 is composed, for example, of a transparent hollow pipe 91, a heat transmitting pipe 92 which is arranged coaxially with said pipe 91 in it and the black-colored material 93. The material 93 is provided on the area corresponding to the focal point of the lens system 30 in said heat transmitting pipe 92 for effective heat absorption. In addition, the heat transmitting pipe 92 is filled with a fluid heat storing material 94. This heat -10- ~.2'~9~fl~
storing material 94 is forcibly moved within said heat transmitting pipe 92 with a pressure applying means not illustrated and circulates in the route including the heat exchanger. Therefore, the sunbeam converged by the lens system 30 is effectively converted into heat energy by the black colored material 93 and is transmitted to the heat storing material 94 within the heat transmitting pipe 92.
The heat storing material 94 is carried to the heat exchanger by means of the pressure applying means. The heat carried is used as various kinds of heat sources in said heat exchanger. The present invention can be attained effectively by using such a heat transmitting pipe. In case the hollow pipe 91 is vacuumed or is filled with an inactive gas, heat radiation from the heat transmi-tting pipe 92 can be reduced.
Fig. 7 is a partial perspective view for explaining another example of a heat transmitting pipe.
Fig. 8 is a transverse cross section of it. In this figure, 110 is a lens system such as the Fresnel lens etc. for focusing the sunbeam energy L. A heat transmission apparatus 120 converts the sunbeam energy converged by the lens system 110 into heat energy and then transmits it to the desired place. The heat transmission apparatus 120 is composed of a hollow pipe 121 and a heat transmission pipe 122 which is arranged within said hollow pipe 121 almost coaxial to said hollow pipe 121. In this arrangement, the heat transmission pipe 122 is provided in such a way as to pass almost the focal point of the lens system llO. Here, the hollow pipe 121 is transparent either entirely or in part as shown in the figure. The sunbeam converged by the lens system 110 can be transmitted into the pipe through a transparent portion A, wi-th the other part being coated with a mirror-finished reflection film 123.
Therefore, the sunbeam L converged by the lens system 110 reaches the heat transmission pipe 122 through the transparent hollow pipe 121 or the transparent part A of hollow pipe 121 and is converted into heat energy by said heat transmission pipe 122. In this embodiment, the heat transmission pipe 122 is filled with a fluid heat storing material 124, which is forcibly moved within said heat transmission pipe 122 by a certain pressure applying means not illustrated and transmitted to a heat exchanger for use therein as the heat source for various purposes.
The heat storing material 124 which is cooled after such heat exchange in said heat exchanger circulates in the heat transmission pipe 122 and returns to the focal point of lens system 110. As explained above such heat storing material 124 is heated again and then transmitted again to the heat exchanger. This cycle is repeated continuously. According to the present invention, as explained above, the heat storing material within the heat transmission pipe is heated by the solar energy converged through the lens system and is sent to the heat exchanger for use as a heat source. Thereafter the cooled heat storing material is circulated again to the focal point of the lens system. The concept of providing the heat transmission pipe at the focal point of the lens system allows one to make the diameter of heat transmission pipe larger than that of the solar image formed by the lens system. Thus it is now possible to effectively convert, even if the focal point of the lens system is more or less deviated, sunbeam energy into heat energy and to transmit it to the heat storing material within the heat transmitting pipe.
Preferably, the sunbeam energy converged by the lens system can be more effectively utilized as the heat energy by forming said heat -transmitting pipe 122 with a black-colored material. In other words, heat radiation from the heat transmitting pipe 122 can be reduced as much as possible and the sunbeam energy having reached said heat transmitting pipe can be transmitted to the heat storing material after more effectively conversed into heat energy.
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In the case where the hollow pipe 121 is partly Einished transparent, that is, the area A allowing the sunbeam converged by the lens system 110 to pass is finished transparent and the other part is formed with the mirror-finished reflection Eilm 123 as shown in the figure, the sunbeam energy converged by the lens system is more effectively converted into heat energy because the heat radiated from heat transmission pipe 122 is reflected by said reflection film 123 back to the heat transmission pipe 122.
Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 9, when only a part of heat transmitting pipe 122, namely the area B equivalent to the focal point of the lens system 110 is formed with the black-colored material and other part C is mirror-finished, thermal radiation from -the mirror-finished part under a high temperature condition is less than that from the black-colored portion B and therefore the sunbeam energy converged by the lens system is more efEectively converted into heat energy. When the transparent area A of hollow pipe 121 and the black-colored area B of heat transmitting pipe 122 are formed slightly wider than the area through which the peripheral part of the sunbeam flux converged by the lens system passes, the sunbeam energy is converted effectively even if the focal point of the lens system is 9~
--1'1--deviated, and in addition any irregular beams converged by the peripheral part of the lens system (the sunbeam converged by the peripheral part of lens has a different focal point in each wave length due to chromatic aberration) can also be effectively converted into heat energy.
Further, in case the inside of hollow pipe 120 is vacuumed or filled with an inactive gas, heat radiation can be suppressed, and thereby the sunbeam energy can be used effectively as heat energy.
Fig. 10 is a sectional side elevation of the main part indicating an embodiment wherein a plurality of point focus type lens systems 110 as explained above are used and the heat transmitting apparatus 120 passes the focal point of each lens system. Fig. 11 is a sectional side elevation of the main part of this embodiment where the line focus type linear Fresnel lens is used as said lens system 110.
Fig. 12 is a transverse cross-section of Fig. 11. In these two examples, the sunbeam energy can effectively be converted into heat energy, as shown in Figures 10 to 12, by either using a plurality of point focus type Fresnel lenses and arranging the heat transmitting apparatus in such a way that it passes the focal points o the respective lens, or using a linear Fresnel lens axtending parallel to the heat transmitting apparatus which is set along the focal point of said linear Fresnel lens.
Fig. 13 is a perspective view illustrating another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 14 is a transverse cross-section o it. In the case of this embodiment, as shown in the drawings, a heat conductive shielding plate 125 extends over the heat transmitting pipe 122 in such a manner as to cover almost half of said heat transmitting pipe 122 and to divide the hollow pipe 121 into two portions in the radius direction. The sunbeam energy converged by the lens system 110 is converted into heat energy by said heat conductive shielding plate 125 and then transmitted to the heat transmitting pipe 122 in the form of heat energy. Accordingly, the sunbeam energy can be effectively converted into heat energy and then transmitted even if the heat transmitting pipe 122 is slightly deviated from the focal point of lens system 110. It can easily be understood that it is not always necessary to provide said heat conductive shielding plate 125 along the entire hollow pipe but only along the area corresponding to the focal ~0 point of the lens system. Moreover, when a linear Fresnel lens is used, as shown in Fig. 15, i-t is possible to have the focal points of lens system 110 spread over the entire heat conductive shielding plate 125.
As is obvious from the above explanation, ~2~
according to the present invention, the sunbeam energy collecting lens and solar heat energy collecting means are effectively accommodated within the capsule. ~ecause of the added solar energy collecting apparatus, accommodation efficiency of capsule is increased, making it applicable for multi-purpose use.
The present invention relates to a solar energy collecting apparatus comprising a capsule being made of a transparent material, plurality of lenses capsulated in said transparent capsule and collect sunbeams, a sunbeam collecting means and heat collecting means deposited at the focal point of the lens, a photo-conductive cable which transrnits the sunbeam collected by said sunbeam collecting means to the desired place and a heat transmitting pipe ~hich transmits solar heat collected by said heat collecting means to the desired place.
With advent of the energy saving era, possible effort is directed recently particularly to research and development for effective use of sunbeam energy. For the most effective use of sunbeam energy, it is a must to directly use the sunbeam energy as the light energy, namely to use the sunbeam energy without converting it to another form of energy such as heat energy and electrical energy.
Because of this, the applicant of the present invention has proposed various kinds of sunbeam collecting apparatuses where the sunbeam energy is converged using lenses etc. and then guided into a photo-conductor, thereafter transmitted through said photo-conductor to the place re~uirlng the lighting and thereby such sunbeam energy is used ~or indoor lighting etc. The present invention is also proposed as a ~ ~Æ~
part of such apparatuses and particularly an apparatus where a means for converting the sunbeam energy to heat energy is effectively employed into the aforementioned sunbeam collecting apparatus, and thereby both light energy and heat energy of the sunbeam can be used simultaneously only with a single apparatus.
The present invention provides an apparatus for eEfectively utilizing sunbeam energy by providing means for collecting effectively the light energy and heat enérgy of sunbeams in a transparent capsule.
According to the present invention, a solar energy collecting apparatus comprises a transparent capsule, a lens assembly comprising a plurality of spot focal point type lenses housed in said capsule and arranged essentially concentrically in order to converge rays of the sun; a sunlight collecting means and solar heat collecting means which are integrated into said lens assembly and provided at the focal point of said lens; a photo conductive cable for transmitting sunlight collected by sunlight collecting means to the desired place; and a heat transmitting device for transmitting the solar heat collected by said heat collecting means to the desired place, said heat collecting means being provided for at least one line of the peripheral side of said lens assembly~ and said sunliqht collecting means being provided for the remaining lenses at the central portion.
In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevation of the main ...
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part for explaining an embodiment of the solar energy collecting apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1 viewed along the line II-II of Fig. 1.
E'ig. 3 is a plan view of the main portion indicating another embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 are schematic diagrams of structure for explaining another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a front elevation. Fig. 5 is a side elevation.
Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 are outlines of the structure of the main portions indicating respectively examples of heat transmit~ing pipe suitable for use in the embodiment of -the present invention.
Fig. 8 is a transverse cross section of Fig. 7.
Fig. 9 is a transverse cross section of the main portion for explaining a modified embodiment.
Fig. 10 and Fig. 11 are sectional side elevations of main portions for explaining another e~mbodiment of the present invention.
Fig. L2 is a transverse cross section of Fig. 11.
Fig. 13 is a perspective view oE the rnain portion ~or explaining a Eurther embodiment oE the present invention.
I
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Fig. 14 is a transverse cross section of Fig~ 13.
Fig. 15 is a transverse cross section where a linear Fresnel lens is used.
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a side elevation of the main part of a solar energy collecting apparatus of the present invention, in other words, oE the beam collectiny and heat collecting appara-tus. Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1 viewed along the line II-II. In these Figures, 10 is a transparent capsule; 20 is a circular, square or hexagon (Fig. 2 shows hexagon shape lenses) lens assembly having the desired shape; 30 is a linear Fresnel lens. The lens assembly 20 converges the sunbeam and focuses the beam spot. Beam collecting means 21 are provided at the focal points. The linear lens 30 converges the sunbeam and focuses the beam in the form of a line. The heat collecting means 31, such as a heat pipe, is disposed along the focal line. The sunbeam energy collected by the sunbeam collecting means 21 is guided into the photo-conductive pipe 23 via the photo-conductive cables 22 and then transrnitted to the desired place via said photo-conductive pipe 23 Eor utilization in lighting or others. Meanwhile, the heat energy collected by the heat collecting means 31 is transmitted to the heat exchanger 33 via the heat transmitting pipe 32 such as a heat pipe and ~.2~2~
is used as a heat source in said heat exchanger 33.
Here, the solar energy collecting apparatus provides a solar direction detecting system not illustrated, which controls said lens system in such a way as to always direct it to the sun in order to most effectively collect the solar energy. For this object, the lens assembly consisting of the lens systems 20 and 30 is rotatable around a shaft 50 by a motor 40. The lens assembly, motor ~0 and rotating shaft 50 are supported by the supporting arm 60 in such a manner as to be freely rotatable around the rotating shaft 70. The shaft 70 crosses the rotating shaft 50 at a right angle. With this arrangement, the lens assembly is capable oE tracking automatically the movement of the sun.
The applicant of the present invention has already proposed various kinds of apparatuses for solar energy collection wherein the lens system is housed within a capsule and the lens assembly is capable of -tracking automatically the direction of the sun. However, when the lens system is accommodated in a capsule, the sunbeam direction is disturbed when the sun's rays pass through said capsule. In particular the rays enetering the peripheral part of lens assembly are reflected by said capsule because the incident angle to the capsule 10 is too large. Therefore, light having a spectrum different from that of sunbeam enters the _7_ ~2~29~
peripheral lens. ~ccordingly, if one attempts to directly use the sunbeam converged by the peripheral lens as the photo-energy, such sunbeam has a wave length different from that of the normal sunbeam. Therefore, the existing sunbeam collecting apparatus leaves the space for the lens system 30 idle. This idle space is very wide when it is totalized because such space corresponds to the peripheral part of the lens assembly and it has resulted in reduction of accommodation efficiency of lens system to the size oE the capsule or application efficiency of the sunbeam energy.
The present invention has been proposed, with the above mentioned background, in mind to effectively utilize such idle space. Namely, as explained above, the lens for collecting heat energy is provided to the peripheral part of lens assembly for beam collecting which has been the idle space in the existing apparatus. When the sunbeam collected by such lens is used after conversion into heat energy, diEference in quality of sunbeam, due to difference in wave length components of sunbeam is completely elimina-ted and the solar energy can be more effectively utilized. The heat energy thus collected is guided to the heat exchanger 33 and is used Eor well known various objects. In addition to such use, Eor example, it is also possible to heat the air within the capsule during the night in order to prevent dew condensation on the lens system and other devices within the capsule. Fig. 2 shows an example where the line focal point type linear F'resnel lens is used as the lens 30 for collecting heat energy. However, the present invention is not limited only to the above embodiment. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, it is also possible to form every lens with the point focus type lens arranged concentrically (concentrical hexagon shape in the case of Fig. 3) and to use a single line or several lines of the peripheral part of the lenses, such as the lenses 30' ror heat collection.
Moreover it is not always required to form the heat energy collecting lens 30 and beam energy collecting lens 20 in the same plane as shown in Fig. 1. For example, as shown by the dotted lines 30' and 30'' in Fig. 1, only the heat energy collecting lens can be provided at the center of the capsule. Thus, the idle space of the capsule can be used more effectively.
Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a Eront elevation of another embodiment where the lens assembly is Eormed such a way as to automatically track the movement Oe the sun. Fig. 5 is a side elevation. In the case Oe this embodiment, the motor ~0 is mounted on the supporting _9 ~.X~2~4~
arm 60. Rotation provided by the motor 40 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 50 via a gear 41. Meanwhile, rotative power provided by the motor 80 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 70 via the gear 81. The motors 40 and 80 are controlled by a detecting signal sent from a sun direction detecting apparatus (no-t illustrated) mounted integrally to the lens assembly whose sun beam receiving surface always faces to the sun.
As indicated, a heat pipe can be used as the heat transmitting pipe, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, it is also possible to use a heat transmitting pipe as shown in Fig. 6. Namely, in Fig. 6, 30 is a line focal point type linear Fresnel lens for heat energy collection (spot focal point type lens may also be used). 90 is a heat transmitting pipe arranged in such a way as to extend along the focal point of the lens 30. The heat transmitting pipe 90 is composed, for example, of a transparent hollow pipe 91, a heat transmitting pipe 92 which is arranged coaxially with said pipe 91 in it and the black-colored material 93. The material 93 is provided on the area corresponding to the focal point of the lens system 30 in said heat transmitting pipe 92 for effective heat absorption. In addition, the heat transmitting pipe 92 is filled with a fluid heat storing material 94. This heat -10- ~.2'~9~fl~
storing material 94 is forcibly moved within said heat transmitting pipe 92 with a pressure applying means not illustrated and circulates in the route including the heat exchanger. Therefore, the sunbeam converged by the lens system 30 is effectively converted into heat energy by the black colored material 93 and is transmitted to the heat storing material 94 within the heat transmitting pipe 92.
The heat storing material 94 is carried to the heat exchanger by means of the pressure applying means. The heat carried is used as various kinds of heat sources in said heat exchanger. The present invention can be attained effectively by using such a heat transmitting pipe. In case the hollow pipe 91 is vacuumed or is filled with an inactive gas, heat radiation from the heat transmi-tting pipe 92 can be reduced.
Fig. 7 is a partial perspective view for explaining another example of a heat transmitting pipe.
Fig. 8 is a transverse cross section of it. In this figure, 110 is a lens system such as the Fresnel lens etc. for focusing the sunbeam energy L. A heat transmission apparatus 120 converts the sunbeam energy converged by the lens system 110 into heat energy and then transmits it to the desired place. The heat transmission apparatus 120 is composed of a hollow pipe 121 and a heat transmission pipe 122 which is arranged within said hollow pipe 121 almost coaxial to said hollow pipe 121. In this arrangement, the heat transmission pipe 122 is provided in such a way as to pass almost the focal point of the lens system llO. Here, the hollow pipe 121 is transparent either entirely or in part as shown in the figure. The sunbeam converged by the lens system 110 can be transmitted into the pipe through a transparent portion A, wi-th the other part being coated with a mirror-finished reflection film 123.
Therefore, the sunbeam L converged by the lens system 110 reaches the heat transmission pipe 122 through the transparent hollow pipe 121 or the transparent part A of hollow pipe 121 and is converted into heat energy by said heat transmission pipe 122. In this embodiment, the heat transmission pipe 122 is filled with a fluid heat storing material 124, which is forcibly moved within said heat transmission pipe 122 by a certain pressure applying means not illustrated and transmitted to a heat exchanger for use therein as the heat source for various purposes.
The heat storing material 124 which is cooled after such heat exchange in said heat exchanger circulates in the heat transmission pipe 122 and returns to the focal point of lens system 110. As explained above such heat storing material 124 is heated again and then transmitted again to the heat exchanger. This cycle is repeated continuously. According to the present invention, as explained above, the heat storing material within the heat transmission pipe is heated by the solar energy converged through the lens system and is sent to the heat exchanger for use as a heat source. Thereafter the cooled heat storing material is circulated again to the focal point of the lens system. The concept of providing the heat transmission pipe at the focal point of the lens system allows one to make the diameter of heat transmission pipe larger than that of the solar image formed by the lens system. Thus it is now possible to effectively convert, even if the focal point of the lens system is more or less deviated, sunbeam energy into heat energy and to transmit it to the heat storing material within the heat transmitting pipe.
Preferably, the sunbeam energy converged by the lens system can be more effectively utilized as the heat energy by forming said heat -transmitting pipe 122 with a black-colored material. In other words, heat radiation from the heat transmitting pipe 122 can be reduced as much as possible and the sunbeam energy having reached said heat transmitting pipe can be transmitted to the heat storing material after more effectively conversed into heat energy.
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In the case where the hollow pipe 121 is partly Einished transparent, that is, the area A allowing the sunbeam converged by the lens system 110 to pass is finished transparent and the other part is formed with the mirror-finished reflection Eilm 123 as shown in the figure, the sunbeam energy converged by the lens system is more effectively converted into heat energy because the heat radiated from heat transmission pipe 122 is reflected by said reflection film 123 back to the heat transmission pipe 122.
Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 9, when only a part of heat transmitting pipe 122, namely the area B equivalent to the focal point of the lens system 110 is formed with the black-colored material and other part C is mirror-finished, thermal radiation from -the mirror-finished part under a high temperature condition is less than that from the black-colored portion B and therefore the sunbeam energy converged by the lens system is more efEectively converted into heat energy. When the transparent area A of hollow pipe 121 and the black-colored area B of heat transmitting pipe 122 are formed slightly wider than the area through which the peripheral part of the sunbeam flux converged by the lens system passes, the sunbeam energy is converted effectively even if the focal point of the lens system is 9~
--1'1--deviated, and in addition any irregular beams converged by the peripheral part of the lens system (the sunbeam converged by the peripheral part of lens has a different focal point in each wave length due to chromatic aberration) can also be effectively converted into heat energy.
Further, in case the inside of hollow pipe 120 is vacuumed or filled with an inactive gas, heat radiation can be suppressed, and thereby the sunbeam energy can be used effectively as heat energy.
Fig. 10 is a sectional side elevation of the main part indicating an embodiment wherein a plurality of point focus type lens systems 110 as explained above are used and the heat transmitting apparatus 120 passes the focal point of each lens system. Fig. 11 is a sectional side elevation of the main part of this embodiment where the line focus type linear Fresnel lens is used as said lens system 110.
Fig. 12 is a transverse cross-section of Fig. 11. In these two examples, the sunbeam energy can effectively be converted into heat energy, as shown in Figures 10 to 12, by either using a plurality of point focus type Fresnel lenses and arranging the heat transmitting apparatus in such a way that it passes the focal points o the respective lens, or using a linear Fresnel lens axtending parallel to the heat transmitting apparatus which is set along the focal point of said linear Fresnel lens.
Fig. 13 is a perspective view illustrating another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 14 is a transverse cross-section o it. In the case of this embodiment, as shown in the drawings, a heat conductive shielding plate 125 extends over the heat transmitting pipe 122 in such a manner as to cover almost half of said heat transmitting pipe 122 and to divide the hollow pipe 121 into two portions in the radius direction. The sunbeam energy converged by the lens system 110 is converted into heat energy by said heat conductive shielding plate 125 and then transmitted to the heat transmitting pipe 122 in the form of heat energy. Accordingly, the sunbeam energy can be effectively converted into heat energy and then transmitted even if the heat transmitting pipe 122 is slightly deviated from the focal point of lens system 110. It can easily be understood that it is not always necessary to provide said heat conductive shielding plate 125 along the entire hollow pipe but only along the area corresponding to the focal ~0 point of the lens system. Moreover, when a linear Fresnel lens is used, as shown in Fig. 15, i-t is possible to have the focal points of lens system 110 spread over the entire heat conductive shielding plate 125.
As is obvious from the above explanation, ~2~
according to the present invention, the sunbeam energy collecting lens and solar heat energy collecting means are effectively accommodated within the capsule. ~ecause of the added solar energy collecting apparatus, accommodation efficiency of capsule is increased, making it applicable for multi-purpose use.
Claims (12)
1. A solar energy collecting apparatus comprising a transparent capsule; a lens assembly comprising a plurality of spot focal point type lenses housed in said capsule and arranged essentially concentrically in order to converge rays of the sun; a sunlight collecting means and solar heat collecting means which are integrated into said lens assembly and provided at the focal point of said lens; a photo conductive cable for transmitting sunlight collected by sunlight collecting means to the desired place; and a heat transmitting device for transmitting the solar heat collected by said heat collecting means to the desired place, said heat collecting means being provided for at least one line of the peripheral side of said lens assembly, and said sunlight collecting means being provided for the remaining lenses at the central portion.
2. A solar energy collecting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a plurality of spot focal point type lenses are provided along said heat transmitting device.
3. A solar energy collecting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the lens for collecting sunlight is of the spot focal point type lens and the lens for collecting solar heat is of the line focal point type lens.
4. A solar energy collecting apparatus according to claim 3 wherein a concentric hexagon is formed using a plurality of spot focal point type lenses in order to collect sunlight and a line focal point type lens for collecting solar heat provided in parallel to said hexagon along its periphery.
5. A solar energy collecting apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said heat transmitting device comprises a hollow pipe and a heat transmitting pipe which is disposed within and coaxially with said hollow pipe and is filled with a fluid heat storing material, said hollow pipe is formed with a transparent material, and said heat transmitting pipe is formed with a black-colored material.
6. A solar energy collecting apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the portion of said heat transmitting pipe corresponding to the focal point of said lens system is formed with a black colored material and the remainder is mirror-finished.
7. A solar energy collecting apparatus according to claim 5 wherein only a portion of said hollow pipe through which the sunbeam coverged by said lens system passes is formed with a transparent material and the other portion is mirror-finished.
8. A solar energy collecting apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the inside of said hollow pipe is evacuated.
9. A solar energy collecting apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the inside of said hollow pipe is filled with an inert gas.
10. A solar energy collecting apparatus according to claim 5 further comprising line focal point type linear lenses along said heat transmitting device.
11. A solar energy collecting apparatus according to claim 5 wherein a heat conductive shielding plate covers essentially half of said heat transmitting pipe and divides said hollow pipe into two sections in the radius direction.
12. A solar energy collecting apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said heat conductive shielding plate is provided only at the area near the focal point of said lens system.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000437287A CA1242944A (en) | 1983-09-22 | 1983-09-22 | Solar energy collecting apparatus |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000437287A CA1242944A (en) | 1983-09-22 | 1983-09-22 | Solar energy collecting apparatus |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1242944A true CA1242944A (en) | 1988-10-11 |
Family
ID=4126144
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000437287A Expired CA1242944A (en) | 1983-09-22 | 1983-09-22 | Solar energy collecting apparatus |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1242944A (en) |
-
1983
- 1983-09-22 CA CA000437287A patent/CA1242944A/en not_active Expired
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