ES2388530A1 - A solar central receiver system employing common positioning mechanism for heliostats - Google Patents

Abstract

A solar central receiver system employing common positioning mechanism for heliostats relates to a system of concentrating and harvesting solar energy. The heliostats of said system are positioned like facets of a Fresnel type of reflector. The heliostats are placed in arrays, wherein each array has a common positioning mechanism. The common positioning mechanism synchronously maneuvers the arrays of heliostats in altitudinal and/or azimuthal axis for tracking an apparent movement of the sun. The common positioning mechanism is employed for synchronously orienting said heliostats with respect to a stationary object and the sun such that incident solar radiation upon said heliostats is focused upon said stationary object from dawn to dusk. Subsequent to each said orientation of said heliostats, collective disposition of said heliostats always forms an arrangement that is capable of reflecting and thereby focusing incident solar radiation upon said stationary object.

Description

Solar Central Receiving System

Field of the Invention

A solar central receiver system of the present invention uses a common positioning mechanism for heliostats to orient them in relation to a fixed object and the sun so that the solar radiation that affects the heliostats is focused on the fixed object from dawn to Dusk The system consists of light reflecting heliostats grouped in either linear and parallel formations with horizontal direction from east to west or horizontal direction from north to south that are placed around the fixed object. Heliostats are placed exactly according to their location in a field of heliostats such as the facets of a Fresnel-type reflector and the placed heliostats are synchronously maneuverable. To follow an apparent movement of the sun in the sky, the common positioning mechanism produces a synchronized altitudinal and / or azimuthal orientation of the heliostats. Subsequent to each of these orientations, the collective arrangement of heliostats always forms an arrangement that is capable of reflecting and therefore focusing the incident solar radiation on said fixed object.

Background of the Invention

A solar central receiver system (a solar oven) is an efficient and reliable producer of large commercial amounts of energy. Conventionally, a solar oven has a central receiver mounted on a tower for collecting sunlight and converting it into energy. Solar radiation is concentrated on the central receiver by the reflection of the heliostats separated around the tower. A solar tracking system directs heliostats by continuously forecasting the position of the sun in the sky. Forecasts are based on date, time, longitude and latitude. In general, the configuration of each heliostat to have individual movement requires a large amount of expensive motorized equipment and dedicated motors.

Conventionally it is essential to individually control the rotation of heliostat mirrors with respect to a fixed target and the moving sun. This requires expensive individual detection, direction and alignment devices for heliostats, a state-of-the-art computer to predict and control the required altitudinal and azimuthal rotation of each heliostat and protect the computer from heat and dust. This results in a higher cost.

The state-of-the-art solar systems employ an expensive formation of mirrors in the form of parabolic plates that are mounted on a huge platform. The entire platform must rotate to follow the movement of the sun. The objective where the solar radiation will finally be affected is in a very high place, so its operation and maintenance is difficult.

In addition, each heliostat must have a sturdy stand as a stand independently to provide structural strength. A reflecting mirror of a heliostat assembled on a conventional pedestal is like a sailboat ready to sail when the wind passes below it.

US Patent No. 4291678 describes a reflection member in the form of plates and a collecting portion disposed at the focal point. The oven supports and solar tracking of the large plate are expensive and requires several engines.

A further prior art is shown in U.S. Patent No. 4365618 where a plurality of platforms revolve around a central receiver in a hemispherical concave depression in the ground. Each platform supports a plurality of structures with each structure supporting a plurality of reflection facets. Expensive and complex mechanical devices are needed to install and turn the platforms around the central receiver in the depression on the ground.

An earlier art even further away is shown in the PCT application with publication number WO 2005/119136 which describes a cylindrical or cylindrical-parabolic reflection surface that can be rotated until the solar radiation is focused on a fixed object. This invention uses heliostats with two drive means for each.

Summary of the Invention

Therefore, there is a need to have a common economic and efficient positioning mechanism for heliostats to follow the sun's daytime movement. An objective of the present invention is to install a formation of heliostats that are synchronously rotatable with respect to the altitudinal axis as well as the azimuthal by means of a common positioning mechanism so that the heliostats continue to reflect sunlight towards a fixed object from the Dawn until dusk.

Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to have synchronously maneuverable heliostats that are placed according to their location in a field of heliostats such as the facets of a Fresnel reflector. With such an arrangement of synchronously maneuverable heliostats, the calculation of the altitudinal and / or azimuthal rotation required of any individual heliostat would be sufficient to predict the altitudinal and / or azimuthal rotation of all the respective formation of heliostats or all heliostats in the field of heliostats

It is also an objective of the present invention to use low level heliostat formations. The position of heliostats near the ground has a reduced wind speed. Grouping heliostats in a horizontal plane helps attenuate the force of seeing from row to row.

It is still an objective of the present invention to eliminate or reduce the necessary number of motors, gearboxes, hydraulic pistons, hoses, cables, electrical connections, other activators, massive supports and computer systems for heliostats, thereby reducing advantageous the cost and complexity of its operation and maintenance.

The objectives set forth above are met by a solar central receiver system comprising a stationary receiver and at least one reflection unit, wherein said reflection unit contains a formation of heliostats which can be maneuvered synchronously on the azimuthal axis and / or altitudinal to follow a changed position of the sun in the sky by means of a common positioning mechanism of said reflection unit, so that the solar radiation incident on said heliostat formation is focused on said stationary receiver.

Said reflection unit comprises a rigid rotating axis that rotates around its axis, whose axis is a primary rotation axis; a linear formation of mechanically connected mounting means placed on said rotating shaft; a linear formation of flat or curved heliostats that reflect the light mounted on said linear formation of mechanically connected mounting means, wherein each heliostat is placed with a different orientation angle and a different inclination angle according to its location in a field of heliostats similar to a facet of a Fresnel reflector.

Said linear formation of mechanically connected mounting means is designed so as to allow an individual pivoting movement of each heliostat around its own axis, whose axis is a secondary rotation axis, wherein each said secondary rotation axis is perpendicular to said axis. of primary rotation.

A first drive means is coupled with said rotating shaft to implement the rotation of said rotating shaft about its axis so that when said rotating shaft rotates, the mounted heliostat linear formation rotates around said primary rotation axis.

A second drive means supported by said rotating shaft to rotate said linear formation of heliostats in a synchronized manner around said secondary rotation axis.

A central processing unit that generates control commands for said first drive means and for said second drive means to synchronously rotate said heliostats around said primary rotation axis and / or secondary rotation axis for each reorientation of said heliostats to track the movement of the sun in the sky so that the incident solar radiation is reflected and thus focused on said stationary receiver.

The solar central receiver system comprises a heliostat field consisting of a stationary receiver mounted at a predefined height above ground level and reflector unit formations placed with reference to said stationary receiver. The rotating axes of said reflection units are placed horizontally, parallel, preferably at the same level and preferably in the east-west direction or in the north-south direction.

Each heliostat of said linear heliostat formation is placed on said rotating axis with an orientation angle according to its location in a heliostat field similar to a facet of a Fresnel type reflector. Said orientation angle at which a heliostat is placed depends on the minimum distance between said stationary receiver and a hypothetical line or cord where a rotating axis is placed on which a heliostat is mounted, said minimum distance being a length of an opposite side. of said orientation angle. Said orientation angle also depends on a distance between said stationary receiver to a position of a midpoint of said heliostat mounted on said rotating axis, said distance being a length of a hypotenuse. Said orientation angle is calculated by finding the sine of said orientation angle, wherein said sine of said orientation angle is equal to said length of said side opposite to said orientation angle divided by said length of said hypotenuse.

Likewise, each heliostat of said linear heliostat formation is placed on said rotating axis with an inclination angle according to its location in a heliostat field similar to a facet of a Fresnel type reflector. Said inclination angle at which a heliostat is fixedly fixed is half an angle 8 which depends on a distance between a stationary receiver to a midpoint of said heliostat located in a heliostat field, which is a length of one side. opposite to said angle 8, and of the height of said stationary receiver from the ground level, which is a length of an adjacent side of said angle 8. Said angle 8 is calculated by finding the tangent of said angle 8, wherein said tangent of said angle 8 is equal to said length of said side opposite to said angle 8 divided by said length of said adjacent side.

The rotating shaft comprises a solid rotating structure similar to a pipe that has a tubular, rectangular or square shaped cross-section and large enough to mount a heliostat formation and is coupled with a drive means to implement an oscillating and rotational movement around its axis

A drive rod that is capable of horizontal movement to and from, parallel to the axis of the rotating shaft, is supported by said rotating shaft which in turn can have fixed pins on it or pusher connections or chain segments or segments. zipper Said drive rod is coupled with drive means, also supported by the rotating shaft, to rotate in a synchronized manner said linear formation of heliostats around said secondary rotation axes to follow the diurnal movement of the sun so that said linear formation of heliostats Reflect the incident solar radiation on a stationary receiver.

The mounting means are designed so as to allow individual pivotal movement of heliostats mounted around their respective secondary axes of rotation. Said mounting means comprise a vertical support rigidly coupled on said rotating shaft; a member or a pair of members, which may be a grooved arm or a pair of grooved arms, which pivot about a pivot pin on said vertical support so that said member or said pair of members freely oscillates around the axis of said pivot pin, whose axis is said secondary rotation axis; a connection bracket coupled to the top of said member or said pair of members; a horizontal support for supporting a heliostat placed on said connection support so that said member or said pair of members together with said horizontal support freely oscillates around said pivot pin.

Said horizontal support moves in a horizontal plane around a pin on said connection support so that the mounted heliostat is capable of being placed with a desired orientation angle, wherein said mounted heliostat is fixedly positioned when said orientation angle is reached wanted.

Said heliostat is supported on said horizontal support by means of a hinge coupled on said horizontal support and by a hinge coupled on connection means, wherein said connection means are to maintain a desired inclination angle, wherein said connection means is fixed on said horizontal support by fixing means so that a desired angle of inclination of said heliostat remains fixed.

Said member of said pair of members contains a pin-like projection wherein said pin-like projection is moved by said second drive means comprising an actuator supported on said rigid rotating shaft to impart horizontal movement to and from, parallel to the axis of said rotating shaft, of a drive rod, a pusher mechanism comprising a plurality of pusher connections or a plurality of pusher pins fixedly placed on said drive rod, wherein said pusher connections or said pusher pins are coupled with said member or said pair of members so that said movement to and from said drive rod results in an oscillatory movement of said member

or said pair of members.

Said pair of members is a gear sector or a pair of gear sectors that engage with the gear teeth incorporated in said pusher mechanism directly or through a gear or a pair of gears, or is a sector of chain sprocket or a pair of chain sprockets that are coupled with a chain or a pair of chains incorporated in said pusher mechanism.

The stationary receiver is a vessel that contains the heat transfer fluid, or a boiler, or a heat exchanger, or a thermal cycle engine, or a thermo-PV generator, or solar cells, or a thermopile and is mounted at a height predefined above ground level and is capable of withstanding high temperatures and the heat transfer fluid can be water, or air, or molten salts, or synthetic oil, or liquid metals.

The stationary receiver can be a collector reflector (curved reflector mirror) placed on one side of said heliostat field at a predefined height above ground level, where said collector reflector again reflects and focuses the concentrated solar radiation delivered on a receiver secondary, wherein said secondary receiver is placed at a focal point of said collecting reflector.

The stationary receiver can also be a collimator reflector mounted on a tower located centrally at a predefined height above ground level, wherein said collimator reflector is placed coaxially and perpendicularly with respect to an optical axis of said solar central receiver system. The focused solar radiation delivered by said heliostats on said collimator reflector is collimated and reflected in a luminous tube, wherein said luminous tube is placed below said collimator reflector so that the axes of said luminous tube and said collimator reflector coincide with the optical axis of said solar central receiver system. The solar radiation concentrated and collimated in said light tube is directed and circulated for lighting inside buildings or for hybrid solar lighting.

Said reflection unit comprises a rigid rotating axis that rotates around its axis, whose axis is a primary rotation axis; a first drive means coupled with said rotating axis to implement the rotation of said rotating axis around its axis so that when said rotating axis rotates the mounted heliostat linear formation rotates around said primary rotation axis and a linear media formation of mechanically connected mounting placed on said rotating shaft.

Said linear formation of mounting means comprises a plurality of spindle shafts that pass through said rigid rotating shaft and pivotally engage on said rigid rotating shaft, wherein the axis of each said stub axle is a rotation axis. secondary, whose axis of secondary rotation is perpendicular to said axis of primary rotation; a pair of trapezoidal / elliptical flanges permanently engaged in ‘a desired first position’ at either end of each said stub axle; a connecting member that joins said pair of trapezoidal / elliptical flanges; a pair of end members fixedly coupled at two ends of said pair of trapezoidal / elliptical flanges; a linear formation of heliostats placed on said rigid rotating axis, wherein said linear formation of heliostats comprises a plurality of heliostats having a central hole / opening; said rigid rotating shaft is placed through said central holes / openings of said linear heliostat formation; said linear formation of heliostats mounted on said linear formation of mounting means such that each heliostat of said linear formation of heliostats is pivotally mounted and fixedly engaged in ‘a second desired position’ on said end members of said mounting means; said 'a first desired position' of each said pair of trapezoidal / elliptical flanges together with said 'a second desired position' of each said heliostat of said linear heliostat formation results in a position of each said heliostat similar to a facet of a reflector Fresnel type.

An actuator supported on said rigid rotating shaft imparts horizontal movement to and from, parallel to the axis of said rotating shaft, to a drive rod, whose drive rod is supported by said rigid rotating shaft and a pusher mechanism comprising a plurality of connections pushers or pusher pins fixedly positioned on said drive rod that engage with said connecting member such that movement to and from said drive rod results in an oscillatory movement of said pair of trapezoidal / elliptical flanges around said axis of stub

A plurality of said rigid rotating shafts are linearly coupled to each other such that only one of said first drive means implements the rotation of said plurality of rigid drive shafts coupled around their axes, and wherein only one of said second drive means synchronously rotates said linear formation of heliostats on each of said rigid rotating shafts linearly coupled around said secondary axes of rotation.

A central processing unit under its control program executes routines for solar tracking using a stored application program, where said control program forecasts the location of the sun in the sky based on the date, time, longitude and latitude related to the location of said solar central receiver system. Using the predicted location of the sun in the sky, entrances of sensing means, the height and location of said stationary object, and the height of said linear formations of heliostats above ground level, said central processing unit periodically calculates the required rotation of the heliostats around the primary rotation axis and / or secondary rotation axis so that said heliostats reflect the incident solar radiation on said stationary object.

Said central processing unit under its control program generates control commands for said calculation of the required rotation of the heliostats for only one of said first drive means to rotate the related rotational axis around said primary rotation axis to follow a movement apparent from the sun in the sky, or said central processing unit under its control program generates control commands for a plurality of said first drive means to synchronously rotate the rotating axes around said primary rotation axis to follow a movement apparent of the sun in the sky.

Said central processing unit under its control program generates control commands for said calculation of the required rotation of the heliostats for only one of said second drive means for synchronously rotating said related linear formation of heliostats around said axis of rotation. secondary to follow an apparent movement of the sun in the sky, or said central processing unit under its control program generates control commands for a plurality of said second drive means to synchronously rotate said linear formations of related heliostats around said secondary rotation axis to follow an apparent movement of the sun in the sky.

Brief Description of the Figures

Figure 1 represents an embodiment of the solar central receiver system where the solar radiation focused by the heliostats falls on a central receiver.

Figure 2 schematically represents a top view of a huge parabolic concentrator that is hypothetically divided into numerous and small reflector segments.

Figure 3 represents the formation of juxtaposed reflecting segments.

Figure 4 represents the pattern of reflection of change in said juxtaposed segments.

Figure 5 represents the indispensable adaptation of the juxtaposed reflecting segments.

Figure 6 schematically illustrates a top view showing a plane of heliostat formations in a circular field of heliostats.

Figure 7 schematically shows a top view of the heliostat field representing the characteristic positioning of the H-shaped support plates.

Figure 8 represents a pusher and oscillating lever mechanism with slide to drive a formation of heliostats, which rotate pivotally, to rotate synchronously and follow the apparent movement of the sun in the sky.

Figure 9 depicts a gearwheel and chain sprocket transmission mechanism.

Figure 10 depicts a gear and pinion and rack transmission mechanism.

Figure 11 represents a composite connection mechanism.

Figure 12 depicts a plan view of the arrangement of fixing a heliostat on an H-shaped support plate.

Figure 13 is a cross section along the line x-y of said plan view of Figure 12.

Figure 14 represents a scheme for determining the angle for the positioning of an H-shaped support plate on the respective support.

Figure 15 represents a scheme for determining the angle of inclination of a heliostat for positioning on the respective H-shaped support plate.

Figures 16 through 19 schematically represent the rotation pattern of heliostats with respect to the first axis of rotation and the second axis of rotation to follow the apparent azimuthal and altitudinal movement of the sun.

Figure 20 schematically represents another embodiment, in which heliostats move around their centers so that there is no rotation radius.

Figure 21 schematically represents a sectional view of the construction of the embodiment shown in Figure 20.

Figure 22 represents another embodiment having a collector reflector as a fixed object for an additional concentration of focused solar radiation.

Figure 23 depicts another embodiment having collector reflectors as a fixed object for an additional concentration of focused solar radiation.

Figure 24 depicts another embodiment having a collector reflector mounted on a tower as a fixed object for an additional concentration of focused solar radiation.

Figure 25 still represents another embodiment having a collector reflector as a fixed object to collide the focused solar radiation.

Detailed description of the invention

Many attempts have been made to reduce the cost of solar furnaces by introducing coupled heliostats. As it has been observed, in the prior art a common positioning mechanism is used for the rotation of coupled heliostats either for the rotation of the altitudinal axis or for the rotation of the azimuth axis. The present invention describes a new common positioning mechanism for heliostats for both, the rotation of altitudinal axes and the rotation of azimuth axes. To explain the functionality of this common mechanism of innovative positioning, the concept of diminished dynamic representation of a parabolic concentrator is revealed.

A paraboloid (parabolic) concentrator is a reflection device that concentrates electromagnetic radiation to a common focal point. Given that solar radiation can be set, the parabolic concentrator is estimated as the most appropriate for collecting and concentrating solar energy. As the size of a parabolic concentrator increases, it becomes increasingly difficult to build it with the necessary precision and calibrate it for an altitudinal and azimuthal movement of the sun. However, even for a huge (large) parabolic concentrator, it is possible that a diminished representation of the concentration can follow the altitudinal and azimuthal movement of the sun.

To elaborate the concept of a diminished dynamic representation of a parabolic concentrator, consider a huge parabolic concentrator that has a circular opening of 250 meters. For purposes of a description, it is assumed that this huge parabolic concentrator is placed on a flat horizontal terrain, where said terrain is tangential to the center of the parabolic concentrator and solar radiation is vertically and paraxially incident. Suppose the continuous surface of the huge parabolic concentrator is hypothetically divided into numerous small segments. Then these hypothetical segments would obviously have the same orientation, inclination and disposition but would have discontinuities between them. Figure 2 schematically represents a top circular view 21 of a huge parabolic concentrator 22, which is divided into numerous small segments (as denoted in numerals 23, 24, 25 aligned in an East-West directional formation 26) surrounding the center 27.

Figure 3 schematically represents said hypothetically divided discrete segments 35, 36 and

37. Perpendicular lines are drawn from said segments on the ground 34. From each intermediate point, where the perpendicular lines meet the ground, parallel lines 38, 39 and 40 are drawn parallel to said corresponding segments 35, 36 and 37. Parallel lines represent juxtaposed reflection segments, which are juxtaposed to the ground 34. Juxtaposed reflection segments have the same angle of inclination as that of segments 35, 36 and 37. Said juxtaposed reflection segments constitute the first step in creating a " diminished representation of the huge parabolic concentrator ".

To form a diminished representation of the huge parabolic concentrator, the solar radiation reflected outside the juxtaposed segments 38, 39 and 40 needs to fall on a fixed target placed at a desired height and preferably in the axis region. Therefore, the angle of inclination of each juxtaposed reflection segment would have to be adapted. For example, as described in Figure 4, a hypothetically divided segment 42 has its juxtaposed reflection segment 46 located near the ground. When a beam of light 41 strikes the segment 42, it would reflect and fall on the focal point 44 on the axis 50. If said beam of light 41 falls on the juxtaposed reflection segment 46 instead of the hypothetically divided segment 42, it it would be reflected (reflected beam 47) towards point 48 located on the axis 50. Now, it is necessary to adapt all the reflection segments juxtaposed so that the reflected solar radiation falls on the fixed target placed in the axis region at a desired height . Figure 5 depicts a juxtaposed reflection segment 51 and a respective adapted juxtaposed reflection segment 52. The incident solar radiation 53 that strikes the juxtaposed reflection segment 51 would be reflected at a point 55 located on axis 56. The similar fixed objective a central receiver can be placed in a different position as indicated in numeral 57. Therefore, the inclination of said juxtaposed reflection segment would have to be adapted such that the reflected light falls on said fixed objective 57. Segment 52 is that segment of juxtaposed reflection adapted, which reflects the incident light on the position of the fixed target represented by numeral 57.

We have already assumed that solar radiation is vertical and paraxially incident. When all the juxtaposed reflection segments related to the huge parabolic concentrator are adapted, it can be said that this huge parabolic concentrator has become its “diminished representation related to the position of the sun at the zenith”. Such diminished representation can be considered as an analogous model of a Fresnel reflector. In a Fresnel reflector, optically flat cuts are made at the desired angles to direct the incident light to a specific geometric location. Similar to the facets of a Fresnel-type reflector, the adapted juxtaposed reflection segments of the present invention are precisely oriented and inclined. The inclination and orientation of a juxtaposed reflection segment depends on its position with respect to a fixed object, the height and position of the fixed object on which the incident solar radiation should be focused, and the position of the sun in the sky.

To allow such diminished representation of the enormous parabolic concentrator to follow the apparent altitudinal and azimuthal movement of the sun, a diminished and dynamic representation of the enormous parabolic concentrator would have to be created.

Now the inclination and orientation of a segment of reflection juxtaposed in a field of heliostats depends on its position with respect to a fixed object, the height and position of the fixed object on which the incident solar radiation should be focused, and the position of the sun in the sky. Here the rest of the criterion, except the position of the sun in the sky, which defines the inclination and orientation for each segment of juxtaposed reflection adapted remains unchanged. The position of the sun in the sky is the only variable factor. Therefore, once the adapted juxtaposed reflection segments are placed in relation to the sun at the zenith, for any other position of the sun in the sky, only the angle of incidence of solar radiation on said segments would be changed. The changed angle of the incident solar radiation would be exactly the same for all adapted juxtaposed reflection segments. Therefore, for any changed position of the sun in the sky, the measure of the inclination and orientation changed in each segment of adapted juxtaposed reflection would be the same. Therefore, for a changed position of the sun in the sky, when a related change is made through a synchronous reorientation of the inclination and orientation of the adapted juxtaposed reflection segments, a diminished representation of said enormous parabolic concentrator is formed in relation to that changed position of the sun in the sky.

In a diminished dynamic representation of a huge parabolic concentrator, the adapted juxtaposed reflection segments are synchronously maneuverable in the altitudinal and azimuthal axes to follow a changed position of the sun in the sky. Subsequent to each of said synchronous maneuvers for the changed position of the sun in the sky, the collective arrangement of the adapted juxtaposed reflection segments always forms an arrangement that is capable of reflecting and therefore focusing the incident solar radiation on said fixed object. When sunlight is followed in such a way that said adapted reflection segments reflect and concentrate the incident solar radiation on a fixed target (fixed object) from dawn to dusk, then said adapted juxtaposed reflection segments meet the criteria of heliostats and therefore they are referred to as heliostats in this text.

Thus, the present invention shows the scheme of a synchronous rotation of heliostats positioned exactly to the same extent with respect to the altitudinal and / or azimuth axes to follow the sun so that the reflected solar radiation continues to fall on an objective. permanent. The heliostat field of the present invention consists of flat or curved light reflecting heliostats grouped in linear and parallel formations with horizontal direction from east to west or horizontal direction from north to south placed close to the fixed object. Pluralities of reflection units are provided to mount the heliostat formations near the fixed object. The reflection units comprise rotating axes that are placed horizontally either in the East-West direction or in the North-South direction, at the same height and rotatable with respect to a primary rotation axis that is either horizontally and in the East direction. -West or horizontally and in North-South direction. A plurality of drive means is provided for synchronous rotation of the rotating axes so that the heliostat formations mounted on said rotating axes rotate synchronously with respect to said primary rotation axis in order to follow the apparent movement of the sun from dawn to dawn. Dusk When rotating axes are placed horizontally in the North-South direction, the rotation of the rotating axes would follow the apparent altitudinal movement of the sun. And when rotating axes are placed horizontally in an East-West direction, the rotation of the rotating axes would follow the apparent azimuthal movement of the sun. In the detailed description of the following invention it is assumed, for convenience, that the rotating axes are placed horizontally, in the East-West direction, at approximately the same height, and are rotatable with respect to the primary axis of rotation that is horizontal and in the direction East West.

If the fixed object is a central receiver, a tower is mounted in the center of the heliostat field to mount the central receiver. Figure 6 schematically illustrates the top view of a circular field of heliostats 60. The parallel rows of reflection units with their rotating axes oriented from East to West (as denoted in numerals 61, 62, 63 as an exemplification) are they extend along the entire field of heliostats 60. A plurality of heliostats are fixedly placed on each of said rotating axes (as denoted in the numerals as an exemplification). For said heliostat field, area 68 represents the central area where a tower is mounted for mounting a fixed object (for example a central receiver). Reference numeral 67 indicates the center point of said field 60. Said parallel rows of reflection units with rotating axes oriented east to west are placed horizontally to the ground plane. The term horizontal to the ground plane should be understood as the design of a notional horizontal plane, which is perpendicular to vertical solar radiation. If the floor area is not flat and has topographic variations, it can be matched or made useful by means of structural and positional adjustments of support structures such as pedestals support and support structures so that said rotating axes remain horizontal and at the same level . Each row of heliostats (for example, row 61) mounted on a corresponding rotating shaft has support on a pedestal or a linear support structure (as described in Figure 8, numeral 105). The lower cords of the support structures are fixed to the ground by anchor penetration. Every two adjacent rows (twins), for example row 61 and 62, are interconnected and configured to be mounted on a shared support structure for rigidity. There is an access road 69 located between each of said twin rows for the movement of people and maintenance equipment and for inspection purposes. The parallel rotating axes with East to West direction extend along the entire heliostat field and are placed horizontally to the ground plane. A formation of mounting means is provided for mounting a heliostat formation on each rotating shaft. Each of said mounting means is designed in a manner in which an individual pivotal movement of the heliostat mounted around its axis is allowed such that the mounted heliostat rotates around a second axis of rotation (secondary axis) that is perpendicular to said primary rotation axis. The heliostats of said heliostat formation are mechanically linked so that they rotate pivotally in synchronism. Each rotating shaft supports a rotation mechanism to make mounted heliostats rotate around said secondary rotation axis to follow the altitudinal movement of the sun. A linear actuator, coupled with the rotation mechanism, causes synchronous rotation of the linear formation of heliostats placed on each rotating axis around said secondary rotation axis.

Several figures, which describe schematic representations of certain embodiments, are exemplary and numerous variants are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. An embodiment of a central reception system 11 (solar oven) of the present invention, as described in Figure 1, comprises a heliostat field 12 that accompanies pluralities of linear formations of heliostats surrounding a centrally located tower 14 The extension of land that accompanies the solar central receiver system is referred to as a heliostat field. Conventionally, heliostats are arranged in concentric arcs around a centrally located tower. The present invention does not need or characterize a solar oven with arc-shaped designs. In the present invention, a field of heliostats can be of any size and rectangular, circular, oval or polygonal in shape. A fixed object (stationary receiver) can be located as a central receiver anywhere in the heliostat field. However, a central position of a stationary receiver would be appropriate, as this would achieve maximum collection of the incident solar radiation. The central position of the stationary receiver would optimize the positioning of the heliostats so that it would maximize the number of heliostats found in the vicinity of the central receiver. And the closer the heliostats are placed, the higher the percentage of sunlight delivery reflected on the central receiver. As shown in Figure 1, the fixed object is a central receiver 15, which is mounted at a predefined height above ground level on a tower located substantially centrally 14. The purpose of said central receiver 15 is to absorb the solar radiation reflected by the heliostats 13 located around said central receiver 15. The horizontal parallel formations of reflection units with the rotating shafts 16 are located near said centrally located tower 14 and are placed in an East-West direction, approximately to the same height, and rotating with respect to the primary axis of rotation that is horizontal and is in an East-West direction. The linear formations of heliostats are mounted on said parallel rotating shafts 16. Each rotating shaft 16 has a formation of mounting means for mounting a formation of heliostats. The rotating shafts 16 are positioned horizontally, parallel and in an East-West direction and are preferably placed at the same height. Each rotating shaft 16 provides a linear formation of mounting means for mounting a linear formation of heliostats. Flat heliostats or curved light reflectors 13 direct the incident solar radiation 17 on the central receiver 15. The central receiver 15 of the system 11, supported by vertical masts of the tower 14, forms a fixed target centrally located. The heliostats 13, placed at a low level with respect to the ground level, are organized over the entire area of said heliostat field 12, which is selected to provide reflection of the solar radiation towards said central receiver 15. To prevent damage from the Heliostats by wind force, the placement of heliostats is kept as low as possible. In addition, the placement of heliostats in the horizontal plane helps to attenuate wind from row to row, thus reducing the wind load on heliostats 13. In addition, a wall around the heliostat field is recommended to reduce the load of the wind.

In a solar oven, heliostats have a fixed object and are required to reflect the incident solar radiation continuously on that object from dawn to dusk. Therefore, at any given time, each heliostat would have a different arrangement. To simplify the solar tracking mechanism for heliostats in a solar oven, numerous attempts were made to achieve a common positioning for coupled heliostats. But it was achieved either for a rotation of the altitudinal axis or azimuth. However, in the present invention, based on the novel concept of a diminished and dynamic representation of a parabolic concentrator, a common heliostat positioning mechanism is used both for the rotation of altitudinal axes and azimuth axes.

Heliostats can be square, circular, rectangular, hexagonal, octagonal or polygonal. Heliostats that have a square or rectangular perimeter are cheaper. Circular-shaped heliostats have the largest area in a non-interfering manner but their manufacture is expensive. Heliostats can be made of plastic and coated with a reflective film such as Mylar or Reflectech. Heliostats can be manufactured with metals such as polished aluminum or nickel / chrome plated steel, or glass with / without a mirror-like silver coating, or ceramic or other compounds such as fiberglass or graphite or polymers or plastics that have a reflective coating, or any other material that meets the necessary structural or reflective properties of a parabolic reflector. The high reflectivity of heliostats could be exploited with the use of aluminum or silver deposited in a vacuum.

The heliostat field of the present invention comprises a plurality of heliostats and may include tens, hundreds or thousands of heliostats. The number, size, shape and arrangement of the heliostats may differ in different embodiments depending on the size of said heliostat field, the scale to be applied in the energy system (small or large), and the applied use of the solar central receiver system. For example, in a huge field of heliostats such as an area of land of approximately 16187 m2, the heliostats would preferably be one square meter. These heliostats would have a positioning height of approximately 0.3 to 1.21 meters above ground level. For this size, the rows of said heliostats can be separated laterally with a spacing of 1.21 to 1.52 meters.

Figures 8 to 18 schematically describe certain embodiments of a common positioning mechanism. The embodiments explained are exemplary and those skilled in the art can easily recognize that numerous variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

The rotating shafts are rigid, preferably tubular in type and rotate to simultaneously orient a plurality of heliostats placed on them. The rotating axes with East-West direction rotate to follow the azimuthal daytime movement of the sun. The distance between the parallel axes is kept to a minimum but sufficient so that the obstruction of heliostats mounted on these axes in any of their positions is avoided. Referring to Figure 8, the pluralities of the axis segments 107 are interconnected to form a rotating shaft 101. Each axis segment 107 preferably consists of a robust and rotating structure such as a tube with a tubular cross section and sufficiently long to mount preferably 2 to 4 heliostats. However, the cross section could be equally rectangular or square. At each end of the shaft segment 107, end flanges 109 are adapted. Said flanges 109 support circular projections 110 of the shaft segment 107. Each circular projection 110 is supported on a bearing 108 mounted on a pedestal 102. Each portion The middle of a brake drum coupling 103 is supported on an adjacent circular projection 110 so that all the axle segments 107 engage each other. Or the adjacent shaft segments 107 are connected by flexible couplings and a brake is connected to the non-movable end of the shaft 101. A drive rod 111 is supported on the end flanges 109 by means of bushings 112 so that said rod of drive 111 can be moved to and from in a direction parallel to the axis of the shaft segment 107. Additionally, the drive rod 111 is supported on support bushings 113 so that the deflection of the drive rod 111 is maintained at minimum. The drive rod 111 of each shaft segment 107 joins with another drive rod 111 of the adjacent shaft segment 107 by means of the coupling 114. In other embodiments, the drive rod 111 can also be supported on the outer surface of the shaft segment 107. Here, the drive rods 111 can be supported on the flanges 109 that are projected onto the outer surface of the shaft segment 107.

An actuator 124 is coupled to one end of the drive rod 111. At the other end of the drive rod 111, tension is exerted by means similar to springs 125 so that the drive rod 111 is always subject to tension. The actuator 124 is always subject to the tension force exerted by the spring 125. Therefore, a positive lock of the drive shaft of the actuator 124. is required. Said drive shaft is positively blocked by a brake in case of failures together with similar means. to two way roller folding devices

or an irreversible mechanism similar to an endless screw reducer that has a large reduction rate. Said actuator, which develops a force and movement in a linear manner, can be a pneumatic actuator or an electric actuator or a motor or hydraulic cylinder or a linear actuator etc. A plurality of connections 115 are rigidly coupled on a drive rod 111 so that each connection 115 is very close to a support bushing

113. The support bushing 113 and the connection 115 project out of the circular pipe 120 through the slot 116 provided in said pipe 120. A plurality of horizontal supports 117 are placed to pivot the heliostats by means of pivot pins 118 on vertical supports 119. Said vertical supports 119 are rigidly coupled on a pipe 120. A horizontal support 117 can freely swing around said pin 118. A heliostat must be mounted on each said horizontal support 117. Therefore the oscillation of said support horizontal 117 around pin 118 rotates the respective heliostat (not shown in the figure) placed on it. An arm 121 is rigidly fixed on the horizontal support 117 so that it also oscillates next to the horizontal support 117 around the pivot pin 118. The pin 122 is permanently coupled with the arm 121 and said pin 122 can be coupled in a slot 123 formed in the body of connection 115.

When the drive rod 111 moves linearly in the East direction by means of the actuator 124, said connection 115 moves said pin 122 towards the East and this results in the clockwise rotation of the arm 121 together with the horizontal support 117 around the plug 118. Said clockwise rotation is preferably up to 30 ° or more depending on the movement of the actuating rod 111. Initially when the movement is zero, said clockwise rotation is equal to zero and the horizontal support 117 is in the horizontal plane. And said rotation clockwise increases as said movement of the drive rod 111 increases in an eastward direction. However, the speed of said rotation clockwise and of said linear movement may or may not be constant. Similarly, when the drive rod 111 moves linearly in the west direction, the arm 121 together with the horizontal support 117 rotates counterclockwise. And said movement counterclockwise is preferably up to 30 ° (or more than 30 ° if necessary) depending on the movement of said drive rod 111.

Figure 9 is another embodiment, wherein the assembly of the rotating shaft 101 is practically identical to that of the embodiment described in reference to Figure 8. However, instead of a sliding and swing lever mechanism with slide, a mechanism is assembled. of gearwheel and chain sprocket transmission to generate a rotating movement of said horizontal support 117 when said drive rod 111 moves in an East or West direction. A plurality of chain segments 151 are rigidly coupled on a drive rod 111. A plurality of chain sprockets 152 engages with said plurality of chain segments 151 so that a movement to and from the drive rod 111 results in a rotating movement of the chain sprockets 152 around the pinion pins 153. Said pinion pins 153 are coupled on the vertical supports 119. Said vertical supports 119 are rigidly coupled on the pipe 120. The support bushings 113 are close to said chain sprockets 152. Each sprocket 152 and said support bushing 113 move freely through the slot 116 provided in said pipe 120. A plurality of horizontal supports 117 with pivot pins 118 are mounted on the vertical supports 119. Said supports horizontal 117 can have a controlled oscillatory movement with respect to said pins 118. A heli must be mounted ostat on each of said horizontal supports 117. Therefore, the oscillation of said horizontal support 117 around the pin 118 rotates the respective heliostat (not shown in the figure) placed on it. A gear sector 155 is rigidly fixed on each of said horizontal supports 117 so that it also oscillates together with said horizontal support 117 around said pivot pin 118. Each said gear sector 155 can be rotatably engaged with a cogwheel 154 coaxially coupled on the chain sprocket 152. Therefore, the sprocket 154 is subjected to a rotational movement of the chain sprocket 152 obtained by a movement to and from the drive rod 111. Therefore, said movement towards and from the drive rod 111 results in the rotational movement of the gear sector 155 together with the horizontal support 117.

When the drive rod 111 moves linearly in the east direction through the actuator 124, the chain sprocket 152 rotates clockwise. This results in the rotation of the cogwheel 154 clockwise in the same magnitude. The gear sector 155 engages with the gearwheel 154. Therefore, the gear sector 155 rotates counterclockwise. Therefore, the horizontal support 117 rotates counterclockwise. Said rotation in the opposite direction to the clockwise is preferably up to 30 ° (or more than 30 ° if necessary) depending on the movement of the drive rod 111. Initially, when the movement is zero, said rotation in the opposite direction to the hands of the clock is zero and the horizontal support 117 is in the horizontal plane. And said rotation counterclockwise increases as said movement of the drive rod 111 increases in an eastward direction. Said rotation counterclockwise is practically proportional to said movement of the drive rod 111 in an eastbound direction. Similarly, when the drive rod 111 moves linearly in the west direction, said gear sectors 155 together with the horizontal supports 117 rotate counterclockwise. Said rotation counterclockwise is practically proportional to said movement of the drive rod 111 in a westward direction.

Figure 10 describes another additional embodiment to obtain the rotation of the heliostats with respect to the altitudinal axis. This embodiment is practically identical to the embodiment described with reference to Figure 9 except that a rack 161 rigidly engages the drive rod 111 instead of said chain segments 151. And said rack engages with said gearwheel 154. They are numerous variations possible to rotate said supports. For example, in the embodiments described in Figure 9 and 10, a gear sector can be directly engaged with the chain or rack segments. Another embodiment is described in Figure 11, where the rotating axes are placed horizontally and in the North-South direction and rotate to obtain the rotation of the heliostats to follow the apparent altitudinal movement of the sun. Here, the assembly of the rotating shaft 101 is also practically identical to the embodiment described with reference to Figure 8. However, instead of a sliding lever and oscillating lever mechanism, a composite connection mechanism is assembled to generate movement. of rotation of said horizontal support. This embodiment can be used in cold areas that are beyond the Tropic of Cancer or Capricorn. A plurality of connections 174 are rigidly coupled on the drive rod 111 so that each connection 174 is very close to a support bushing 113. The support bushing 113 and connection 174 project outwardly from the circular pipe 120 through of the slot 116 provided in said pipe 120. A plurality of horizontal supports 117 for the heliostats pivot about the pivot pins 118 on the vertical supports 119. Said vertical supports 119 are rigidly coupled on the pipe 120. The horizontal support 117 can oscillating freely around said pin 118. An oscillation connection 171 pivots at one of its ends on the connection 174 by means of a pivot pin 172. The other end of the oscillation connection 171 is connected to the horizontal support 117 by means of a connecting plug 173. The horizontal support 117, the oscillation connection 171 and the connection 174 on the rod of a actuation 111 together with the pivot pins 118, 172 and 173 form a mechanism such that when the connection 174 moves towards the south direction by means of the actuator 124, the oscillation connection 171 oscillates in the downward direction and therefore the horizontal support 117 oscillates in the downward direction. The extreme position of the horizontal support 117 will be horizontal, that is, parallel to the axis of the axis segment 107. When the actuator 124 moves the connection 174 by means of the drive rod 111 towards the north, the oscillation connection 171 oscillates upwards and therefore the horizontal support 117 oscillates upwards counterclockwise. In the highest position, the horizontal support 117 would be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane preferably at 50 degrees.

The arrangement and orientation of a heliostat placed on a rotating axis would depend on the position of the heliostat in the heliostat field and would be similar to the related adapted juxtaposed reflection segment. An elongated bracket is the highest component of the mounting means and is provided for mounting a heliostat. These supports are placed in parallel and all the way on each rotating axis. An H-shaped support plate is placed on each of said horizontal supports to perform the different orientation, the defined angle of inclination and the balanced positioning of a fixed heliostat on said support. The placement and fixation of each of said H-shaped support plates is critical. The midpoint of said central member of said H-shaped support plate is fixed over the midpoint of said respective support so that said central member is collinear to the line that joins the center of said heliostat field and the middle end of said central member. As shown in Figure 7, dashed lines 92, 93 and 94 denote said collinear lines for H-shaped support plates 75, 76 and 77 respectively. When fixed on a horizontal support, the central member of the H-shaped support plate forms an angle (angle "a" as shown in Figure 12) with respect to said horizontal support. Said angle "a" varies for an H-shaped support plate on the respective horizontal support according to the position of the horizontal support in the heliostat field. Figure 7 diagrammatically shows the layout (orientation) scheme of the H-shaped support plates. Three H-shaped support plates 75, 76 and 77 are shown for the illustration of said scheme. The heliostat field 71 has a central circular space 78 for the central tower and numeral 79 represents the center of said circular space 78. The east-west oriented axis 72 shows supports 81, 82 and 83. A central member is fixed of each H-shaped support plate over the midpoint of the respective horizontal support. Each H-shaped support plate has a middle member (numerals 84, 85 and 86 represent the middle members of the H-shaped support plates 75, 76 and 77 respectively) a side member parallel to said middle member (the numerals 87, 88 and 89 represent the lateral members of the H-shaped support plates 75, 76 and 77 respectively) and a central member (numerals 90, 74 and 91 represent the central members of the support plates in the form of H 75, 76 and 77 respectively) that unites it. The length of the middle and side members will be the same for all H-shaped support plates, while the length of the central member of said H-shaped support plate will decrease, as the angle of inclination of the heliostat increases .

Figure 12 and 13 schematically illustrate the orientation angle "a" for a fixed positioning of an H-shaped support plate on a horizontal support, wherein said angle "a" varies according to the position of a support in the heliostat field, and the inclination angle "b" formed by a heliostat on an H-shaped support plate, wherein said inclination angle "b" varies according to the position of a heliostat in the heliostat field. Figure 12 shows a top view (view from C) of the fixing arrangement of heliostat 131 on an H-shaped support plate 132. In addition, as described in Figure 12, each H-shaped support plate it is fixed on a respective horizontal support with the required angle "a" as described hereinbefore and in other sections. The midpoint of the central member of the H-shaped support plate 132 is fixed on the respective horizontal support 117 at its center such that the center line of said H-shaped support plate rests at a specific angle "a" with a central line of said horizontal support.

As described in Figure 12, an H-shaped support plate consists of a central member fixed on a horizontal support 117, a middle member at right angles to the central member and located intermediate towards the center of field of heliostats, and a lateral member parallel to the middle member and at right angles to the central member and located towards the periphery of said heliostat field. At the middle end, on the middle member, a plurality of hinge brackets 133 are fixed. A pivot pin 134 is placed on the hinge bracket 133 so that it can freely rotate on its own axis, and the pivot pin 134 It is at right angles to said central member. Said heliostat 131 is fixed on the pivot pin 134 by means of an accessory of the pivot pin 135 so that said heliostat 131 can oscillate freely together with the pivot pin 134.

Now, with reference to Figure 13, heliostat 131 is inclined with respect to the H-shaped support plate 132 at an angle of inclination "b". Figure 13 is a cross section along the line xy shown in Figure 12. With reference to Figure 13, the inclination of heliostat 131 with respect to the H-shaped support plate 132, which is the angle " b ", is determined mathematically and therefore the length of each leg support 136 that supports the side part of the respective heliostat 131, and the length of the central member of the H-shaped support plate is determined. The inclination of the Angle "b" is minimal for heliostats 131 located near the fixed object and slowly increases in heliostats located towards the periphery of said heliostat field. The inclination of the angle "b" of any heliostat is influenced by the position of said heliostat on a rotating axis, the position of said rotating axis in said heliostat field and the height of the fixed target. With reference to Figure 12 and 13, the leg support 136 comprises the spherical joint 137 and 138 fixed on the underside of the side of each heliostat, and the spherical joint 139 and 140 fixed on the side member of a plate of H-shaped support The spherical connections 137 and 139 are connected to each other by means of connection similar to a screw tensioner, oscillating lever with slides, etc. Similarly, a spherical joint 138 is connected to a spherical joint 140 by means of connection means similar to a screw tensioner, oscillating lever with slides, etc. The inclination angle "b" can be adjusted and synchronized precisely by adjusting the length of the leg support 136.

At a specific position in the heliostat field, an H-shaped support plate is placed on a horizontal support at a precise angle of orientation (angle "a"). Said angle "a" can be determined mathematically. Similarly, at a specific position in the heliostat field, a heliostat is placed on an H-shaped support plate over an exact tilt angle (tilt angle "b"). Said angle of inclination "b" can be determined mathematically. For these mathematical determinations of an angle "a" and an angle "b", it is assumed that the sun is at the zenith and directly above the heliostat field and that the incident solar radiation is vertical. Furthermore, in view of the fact that the mounting means are mounted on the rotating shafts and the horizontal supports are the highest members of the mounting means, it is further assumed that said horizontal supports are at the highest in their horizontal position with respect to the rotating shafts. With reference to Figure 14, B is the center of the heliostat field, C is the center of a central member of an H-shaped support plate installed on a horizontal support. Therefore, BC is the distance from said center of said heliostat field to the center of the central member of said support plate in the form of H. MN is a line (the line MN is either in the East-West direction or in the direction North-South) along which a rotating shaft is placed on which a heliostat formation must be installed. Said line MN is at a distance BA from said center B, so that BA is perpendicular with respect to said line MN. Therefore AB is the minimum distance from said center B of said heliostat field to said line MN. The center of the central member of said H-shaped support plate is fixedly positioned on said support at point C so that said central member is oriented collinearly to BC, and said central member makes an angle "a" with respect to to said support, whose support is parallel to said axis MN.

Now, the sine of the angle a = AB / BC, where AB is the minimum distance measured from said center B of said heliostat field to said line MN (AB is the length of the opposite side of angle a), and where BC is the distance measured from said center B of said heliostat field to said point C where said central member of said H-shaped support plate is fixed (BC is the hypotenuse). Therefore, the angle "a" is calculated by the expression Sine a = AB / BC.

In other words, said angle "a" depends on a minimum distance between a center of said heliostat field and a hypothetical line or cord where a rotating axis is placed on which a heliostat is placed. Said minimum distance is a length of a side opposite to said angle "a". Similarly, said angle "a" depends on the distance between said center of said heliostat field and a position of a midpoint of a heliostat on said rotating axis. This distance is a length of the hypotenuse. Said angle "a" is calculated by finding the sine of said angle "a", wherein the sine of said angle "a" is equal to the length of said side opposite to said angle "a" divided by said length of said hypotenuse.

As shown in Figure 15, each heliostat is inclined with respect to the H-shaped support plate at an angle "b". The angle of inclination of a heliostat with respect to an H-shaped support plate, which is the angle "b", is also determined mathematically. Now, as schematically represented in Figure 15, B is the center of a heliostat field where a fixed target is mounted perpendicularly and R is the position of the fixed target, where said R is at a height H from the plane of the ground G, so that RB = H = height of said fixed target. The distance from the EF heliostat to B = BC, where C is the center position of said EF heliostat placed just above ground level. Considering the enormity of the heliostat field and the height H, the insignificant height of said EF above said ground level is ignored. Now, it is assumed that the incident rays of the sun are perpendicular to the ground level. Therefore, the reflected solar beam CR makes an angle 0 with respect to the height of the fixed target RB so that the tangent of 0 = BC / RB, where the terms BC and RB are defined above. And therefore, angle 0 is defined by the above expression so 0 = BC / RC. The angle SCR = angle CRB = angle 0, because RB is parallel to the incident vertical solar rays SC. EF is the position of the heliostat. And CD is normal to EF. The normal CD divides the SCR angle. Therefore the angle SCD = angle 0/2 = angle DCR. Now the angle RCB = angle a = angle 90 degrees - angle 0. And the normal DC is perpendicular to EF. Therefore the angle DCE = angle 90 degrees = angle DCR + angle a + angle BCE = angle DCR + (angle 90 degrees - angle 0) + angle BCE. Therefore the angle of 90 degrees = angle DCR + angle of 90 degrees - angle 0) + angle BCE. Therefore angle 0 = angle DCR + angle BCE. But the angle DCR = angle 0/2. Therefore angle 0 = angle 0/2 + angle ECB. Therefore the ECB angle = angle 0/2. Since EF is seen crossing the ground plane, the angle "b" = ECB = 0/2 degrees.

Even with said mathematical determinations of angle "a" and angle "b", to permanently place each H-shaped support plate on a horizontal support and to permanently place each heliostat on said H-shaped support plate, it is used preferably an alignment system on site. Here, the alignment and installation of the heliostats is done with the vertically incident light and the horizontal supports in their maximum horizontal position, where the placed heliostats properly focus the incident vertical light on the fixed target.

Figures 16 to 19 schematically represent the rotation pattern of said heliostats with respect to said primary or secondary axis of rotation to respectively follow the apparent azimuthal and altitudinal movement of the sun. Figure 16 schematically depicts a heliostat 181 located on a horizontal support 182 where the incident vertical solar radiation 184 is reflected (reflected beam of light 185) to fall on a fixed target 186. The horizontal support 182 is mounted on a rotating tubular axis 183. Said rotating shaft 183 rotates with respect to a primary axis of rotation that is horizontal and with East-West direction. Now, it is assumed that there is no altitudinal movement and that the apparent azimuthal movement of the sun is 20 degrees south. To follow this azimuthal movement, as shown in Figure 17, said rotating shaft 183 rotates (clockwise) southward by 10 degrees with respect to said primary rotating shaft, thereby rotating heliostat 181 in 10 degrees. It is observed that the incident solar radiation 187 that falls on the heliostat 181 is reflected (reflected beam 188) towards the fixed target 186. Figure 18 represents a diagrammatic representation of a heliostat fixedly placed 181 on a horizontal support 182 with a different orientation and an angle of inclination so that the incident solar radiation 189 is reflected (the reflected beam is shown with numeral 190) to fall on the fixed target 186. Figure 18 represents the pivoting horizontal rotating support 182 mounted on a rotating axis 183. Said horizontal support 182 is the mounting means for mounting heliostat 181. Suppose it is assumed that there is no azimuthal movement and that the altitudinal movement of the sun to the west is 50 degrees. As shown in Figure 19, to follow this altitudinal movement of the sun apparently in a 50-degree west direction, according to the law of reflection, heliostat 181 rotates 25 degrees west (clockwise) with with respect to said secondary rotary axis. It is observed that the incident solar radiation 191 that falls on the heliostat 181 is reflected (reflected beam 192) towards the fixed target 186.

Heliostats are fixed on rotating shafts. Although insignificant, the rotation of heliostats around said rotating shafts has a role due to the appropriate adjustment necessary. Said heliostats rotate along a circular path that has a radius that is comparable to the radius of said rotating axes. The rotating axes rotate to follow the sun, where the reflected solar radiation also travels a certain distance, which is proportional to said radius when said rotating axes are rotated. A CPU (Central Processing Unit) generates the control commands for a controlled advance or delay of compensation in the movement of each rotating axis to compensate for said path of reflected solar radiation. Or the rotating axes rotate synchronously with respect to said primary rotation axis for monitoring the azimuthal movement of the sun, and consequently each rotating axis is synchronized exactly to compensate for said reflected solar radiation path so that a collective arrangement of said heliostats always form an arrangement that is capable of reflecting and therefore focusing the incident solar radiation on said fixed object. Here, said reflected solar radiation path would be different between heliostats mounted on the middle part (near the center of the heliostat field) and the side part (near the periphery of the heliostat field) of a rotating shaft and the position of said rotating axis in the field of heliostats. A mean (average) is preferably taken for the most middle and the most lateral heliostat to calculate said advance or delay for each rotating axis and therefore exactly each rotating axis is synchronized. In addition, the azimuthal daytime movement of the sun is generally minimal and therefore such reflected solar radiation path would be minimal. Or a controlled motion of compensation of the fixed target is performed in a direction required to follow said reflected solar radiation. Here, in this embodiment, which is optional, the tower / assembly to support the fixed target supports a rectangular platform. A straight or curved slide is fixed on said platform for the movement of said fixed target in a required direction from dawn to dusk to follow said reflected solar radiation, wherein said fixed target slides in the same direction and is proportional to said solar radiation path reflected from dawn to dusk. A numerically controlled mechanism is coupled onto said slide for said controlled compensation movement of said fixed target in said required direction.

Still another embodiment is described below with reference to Figure 20 and 21, where the heliostats revolve around their centers. Figure 21 is a schematic cross-sectional view of Figure 20. The heliostats have central holes and the rotating axes with East-West direction pass through said holes. When these axes rotate to follow the azimuthal movement of the sun, the heliostats move around their centers around the primary axis of rotation that has a horizontal direction of East-West. The rotating shaft assembly and the drive mechanism are practically identical to the embodiment described with reference to Figure 8. As shown in Figure 20 and 21, a plurality of oscillating levers with slides 208 are permanently fixed on the rod of drive 204. A plurality of spindle shafts 209 are passed through the shaft segments 201 and are supported on the shaft segments 201 by means of bushings. A pair of trapezoidal flanges 210 is fixed on said spindle shafts 209 so that each trapezoidal flange 210 is on either side of the shaft segment 201. A pusher rod 211 is permanently fixed on the pair of trapezoidal flanges 210 so that said pusher rod 211 can be engaged in the groove 212 in the oscillating lever with slide 208. When the actuator rod 204 is moved by the actuator 207 in an East / West direction, the oscillating lever with slide 208 pushes the pusher rod 211, so which results in the rotation of the pair of trapezoidal flanges 210 about the axis of said stub axle 209. Said pair of trapezoidal flanges 210 are permanently fixed to each other by means of a pair of members 213 located at the two ends of said pair of flanges trapezoidal 210. Each of said pair of members 213 has a hole 215 in its central part through which a heliostat is coupled by means of a plug or a projection for installation purposes. Each heliostat rotates around an axis of said pin or said projection 216, and each heliostat rotates around said axis of said pin or said projection while fixedly installed. Heliostat 214 rotates around said axis of said pin or said projection and is rigidly fixed at any desired angle by means of fixing means. For example, in one of the embodiments, a male projection of circular pivot with flanges 216 having its appropriate circular projection for said hole 215 is adjusted around said hole 215 on each of said members 213 by means of screws (not shown the screws in the figure). Each heliostat 214 has an elliptical shaped opening in its center through which the shaft segment 201 passes. The size of the elliptical opening and the size of the main shaft of said elliptical opening is large enough to accommodate the movement of said trapezoidal flanges 210 and said members 213. Two circular female projections 217 are fixed at the end of the main axis of said elliptical opening in heliostat 214. The inner diameter of said circular projection 217 coincides with the diameter of the male pivot projection 216 of so that the heliostat 214 rotates on the axis of the male pivot projection 216. The male pivot projection 216 forms a pivot axis for the heliostats 214. The heliostat 214 can be rotated with respect to said pivot axis and can be rigidly fixed on said pivot axis in any "desired angular position" by means of fixing means (the fixing means are not shown in the figure). The linear movement of the drive rod 204 results in the movement of the heliostat 214 around the axis of the spindle shaft 209. The movement to and from said drive rod 204 increases or decreases the angle "c" of the trapezoidal flanges with respect to to the axis of the axis segment 207. As described above, at a specific position in a heliostat field, the angle of inclination of a heliostat with respect to the ground level is equal to the angle 0/2 degrees, wherein said angle 0 can be calculated mathematically. Therefore, the heliostat rotates around said axis of the spindle shaft and around said pin or said projection so that the entire plane of said heliostat makes said angle 0/2 with respect to the ground level, where a line that it joins the center of the heliostat field and the midpoint of the average limit of said heliostat is perpendicular with respect to the average limit of said heliostat. Once said position is achieved, then said heliostat is rigidly fixed at said angle of rotation formed around said axis of said pin or said projection by means of fixing means. Similarly, said heliostat is set at the same angle of inclination with respect to said axis. All heliostats in said heliostat field are placed in a similar manner as described above. From this position reached, said heliostats rotate synchronously to the current position required. Said axis or rotating axes revolve around the axis of said axis or rotating axes, which is the primary axis of rotation to follow the apparent movement of the sun. Similarly, the linear actuators, coupled with the drive rods, achieve a movement to and from the drive rods resulting in the rotation of said heliostats around the axis of said spindle shafts, which is a secondary rotation axis. which is perpendicular to said primary rotation axis.

To compensate for said rotation radius of the heliostats described above, and to compensate for the mechanical precision error when rotating the heliostats, and to expand the fixed target to accommodate almost all the solar radiation provided for best results, certain embodiments are schematically represented in the Figures 22 to

25. In the embodiment depicted in Figure 22, a large simple curved collector reflector 233 (a convex or concave reflector mirror) is installed on one side of the heliostat field similar to one installed in the solar furnace in Pyrenees-Orientales in France to refocus the solar radiation provided by the heliostats on a receiver. As shown in Figure 22, said heliostats 231 of the heliostat field reflect the incident solar radiation 235 and therefore provide the reflected solar radiation 236 on said collector reflector 233. The solar radiation provided is further refocused by said collector reflector. 233 on a receiver 234, whose receiver 234 is mounted on the focal points of said collecting reflector 233. Another embodiment is schematically shown in Figure 23, where instead of a single collecting reflector, a plurality of collecting reflectors 276 are installed a 279 in the central area of said heliostat field and are used to refocus the solar radiation provided by heliostats 268 to 275 on the respective receivers 280 to 283. The heliostats (represented by numerals 268 to 275 as an exemplification) reflect and therefore focus the incident solar radiation on these large cur mirrors vos 276 to 279. The focused and proportionate solar radiation is further refocused on receivers 280 to 283, whose receivers 280 to 283 are respectively mounted at the focal points of said curved mirrors 276 to 279. Alternatively, in another embodiment represented in Figure 24, a fixed object is a curved mirror 303 mounted on vertical supports so that the axis of said curved mirror 303 coincides with the axis of the solar central receiving system. Said optical axis of the solar central receiver system that passes through the center of said curved mirror 303 rests perpendicularly to a plane tangent to the center of said curved mirror. The heliostats 300 placed at low height on the ground 302 in a field of heliostats 301 focus the incident solar radiation 305 and therefore place it on said fixed object 303. The solar radiation delivered and concentrated is refocused further (the radiation refocused solar is represented by numeral 306) by said large curved mirror 303 (collector reflector 303) on a receiver 304, whose receiver 304 is mounted above ground level 302 below said curved mirror and at the point focal of said curved mirror 303.

Said single collector reflector or said large curved mirror or each of said collector reflectors are capable of withstanding high temperatures and can have an area of approximately 0.1% to 1.5% of the heliostat field. Preferably a cooling mechanism similar to a heat sink is provided on the non-reflective side of said single collector reflector or said collector reflectors. A dielectric mirror can be used in which the radiation absorption is negligible.

One of the embodiments of the solar central receiver system has a superior configuration of the tower where the heliostats reflect sunlight on a central receiver. In other embodiments, a collector reflector or collector reflectors are used to further concentrate the reflected solar radiation, which is achieved to influence a receiver or receivers respectively. Said central receiver or said receiver, or said receivers are capable of withstanding high temperatures of about 649 to 982 degrees Celsius, and containing the heat transfer fluid such as molten salts or synthetic oil, liquid metals or water, and absorbing the solar energy provided and convert it into thermal energy. The absorbed solar energy heats the contained heat transfer fluid, and said heated heat transfer fluid is transferred to a hot thermal storage tank, wherein said hot thermal storage tank allows the production of electrical energy that does not coexist with the availability of sunlight. The energy conversion system for said electric energy production may be a Rankine cyclic conversion system, wherein said heated heat transfer fluid of said hot thermal storage tank is transferred to a boiler / heat exchanger to generate steam high quality. Said steam drives a steam turbine to produce electricity. Or the energy conversion system can be a Brayton cyclic conversion system. Once the heat is removed from the heat transfer fluid, the heat transfer fluid is transferred back to the cold storage tank for reuse. Or when said receiver or said receptors absorb concentrated and incident solar radiation, where a very high temperature is achieved, then said high temperature can be used for the separation of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Or instead of said receiver or said receivers, a cyclic thermal motor such as a Stirling motor coupled to an electric generator can be placed. Or said concentration of solar radiation could be achieved in a mechanical / thermo-voltaic generator or thermopile or photovoltaic conversion.

In another embodiment as depicted in Figure 25, a curved concave mirror 310 (a convex mirror can also be used) is mounted behind the focal point 311 of the solar central receiving system so that the focused solar radiation 312 provided by the heliostats 313 be “collimated and reflected” (collimated and reflected radiation is represented by numeral 316) towards the central area of the heliostat field. The "center of said heliostat field" 314, said focal point 311 and the center of said curved concave mirror rests on the optical axis 315. Said curved concave mirror 310 is positioned such that said optical axis 315 passing through its center rests substantially perpendicular to a plane tangent to the center of said curved mirror. Said focal point 311 of the solar central receiving system resting on said optical axis 315 is in the focus of said curved concave mirror 310. Said collimated solar concentration is incident on a receiving light tube 317 and is used to illuminate the interior of buildings. Said receiver light tube 317 is positioned below said collimator reflector 310 so that the axes of said receiver light tube and said collimator reflector coincide with the optical axis 315 of said solar central receiver system. The concentrated and collimated light entering said receiver light tube 317 is directed and circulated for lighting inside buildings or for hybrid solar lighting. Or said concentration of collimated solar radiation can be used to heat water or to heat swimming pools. Or said concentration of collimated solar radiation could be used with great advantage in a mechanical / thermo-voltaic generator or thermopile or photovoltaic conversion.

As regards various embodiments as described with reference to Figures 1-25, for the convenience of the purposes of the description, it was assumed that the rotating shafts were positioned horizontally and in an East-West direction. Alternatively, the rotating axes can be placed horizontally and in the North-South direction instead of the East-West direction, at the same height and rotating around a primary axis of rotation that is horizontally and North-South. Here, the heliostat field would consist of flat or curved light reflecting heliostats grouped in linear and parallel formations with horizontal direction from east to west or horizontal direction from north to south instead of linear and parallel formations with east-west direction. The positioning of heliostat formations on rotating shafts and the configuration of the common positioning mechanism would be as described earlier in the text with reference to Figures 1-25.

The position of a celestial object such as the sun can be defined by specifying its altitude and azimuth. The altitude of an object is equal to its angle of elevation in degrees above the horizon and the azimuth of an object is equal to its angle in the horizontal direction. A solar tracking system of the present invention comprises, as in the prior art, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory and a logical application software including a CPU executable code loaded in said memory. The forecasts of the position of the Sun in the sky are based on the date, time, longitude and latitude related to the heliostat field. The CPU receives sensory media inputs as in the prior art, such as optical sensors, radiofrequency sensors, magnetic sensors, detectors to determine position, optoelectric sensors, magnetic stripe or radiofrequency identification marker. A detection to determine the position or position error by means of a guide device allows precise orientation and tracking. Extensive references are available in the literature, which broadly describe the processes of objective alignment and sun tracking for heliostats of a solar oven, its mechanism and various applications. An alignment device or an instrument for detecting position errors can be used to assist said computer alignment system. Said position error detection instrument is described by Litwin, Robert Z, and others in US patent application 20050274376, and said patent application is incorporated herein by reference. A system for tracking the sun for a solar power plant with central receiver, by Reznik Dan S, and others in US patent application 20090107485, describes a system that uses cameras to acquire orientation samples by setting the reflection direction of the heliostats and detecting the concurrent reflections of sunlight in the cameras. Said system can also be included for solar tracking and properly orientating the mirrors of the heliostats of the present invention. Said application 20090107485 is also incorporated herein by reference. To align the mirrors of the heliostats to their fixed target while they are fixedly installed on the respective supports or to align the mirrors of the heliostats to follow the apparent movement of the sun from dawn to dusk, a computer alignment system is used of the previous art. Using the predicted position of the sun, sensor inputs, height and position of said central receiver and the elevation of the heliostats, the CPU periodically calculates an azimuth and elevation angle for the heliostats and said heliostats are therefore positioned so that the radiation reflected solar fall on the desired target. In the solar furnace of the present invention, it is not essential to detect, align and control the rotations of the mirrors of each of the pluralities of heliostats in accordance with the daytime movement of the sun. In the present invention, it would even be sufficient to predict the necessary altitudinal and / or azimuthal rotation of a single heliostat. Due to the peculiar arrangement of heliostats as explained in a diminished and dynamic representation of a parabolic concentrator, for any changed position of the sun in the sky, the measure of the changed inclination and the orientation in each heliostat would be the same. Therefore, for a changed position of the sun, the present invention demonstrates the method of synchronous rotation of a heliostat formation or all heliostat formations to the same extent with respect to the altitudinal and / or azimuth axes. The CPU generates control commands so that the geared electric motor drive unit (s) synchronously rotate the rotating shaft / axes to the same extent with respect to said primary rotation axis. The CPU also generates control commands so that the actuator / actuators synchronously rotate the formation / formations of heliostats to the same extent with respect to said secondary rotation axis. Said motor control units or said linear actuators can be controlled with the same control signal or said motor control unit or said linear actuator could be controlled with an individual signal control. Once all heliostats are synchronously rotated to the same extent for the apparent altitudinal and / or azimuthal movement of the sun, a single heliostat can be used for each heliostat formation for precise synchronization of the related heliostat formation. A single heliostat of each heliostat formation can have an independent system

5 detection, tracking and alignment. For the purpose of precise synchronization, each motor control unit could be controlled with an individual control signal, where the respective rotary axis rotates around said primary rotation axis, and each linear actuator could be controlled with a signal of individual control, wherein a respective heliostat formation revolves around said secondary rotary axis.

Due to the arrangement of heliostats in the present invention (a formation of connected heliostats

10 mechanically mounted on a rotating shaft) and the arrangement and connection of the different elements of the present invention described above, the east / west drive by the actuator results in an east / west rotation of the mounted heliostats that follow the altitudinal movement of the sun. Similarly, to follow the azimuthal movement of the sun, the clockwise rotation follows the changing azimuth of the sun say 900 to 1400 and the counterclockwise rotation follows the changing azimuth of the sun ,

15 let's say from 2200 to 2700.

Thus the above description indicates certain embodiments of the present invention, and it is apparent to such experts and those skilled in the art that numerous versions, modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Of course, the present invention can be carried out in other specific ways than those established herein without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the

20 invention. Therefore in reference to the designs, the detailed description of the invention should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes originating within the extent of the meaning and equivalence of the detailed description are intended to Be included in it.

Claims (2)

1- A solar central receiver system comprising a stationary receiver and at least one reflection unit, wherein said reflection unit contains a formation of heliostats characterized in that said formation of heliostats can be maneuvered synchronously in the azimuthal and / or altitudinal axis to follow a changed position of the sun in the sky by means of a common positioning mechanism of said reflection unit so that the solar radiation incident on said heliostat formation is focused on said stationary receiver, wherein said reflection unit comprises: a rigid rotating shaft that rotates around its axis, whose axis is a primary axis of rotation; a linear formation of mechanically connected mounting means placed on said rotating shaft; a linear formation of flat or curved heliostats that reflect the light mounted on said linear formation of mechanically connected mounting means, wherein each heliostat is placed with a different orientation angle and a different inclination angle according to its location in a field heliostat similar to a facet of a Fresnel reflector; said linear formation of mechanically connected mounting means designed to allow individual pivoting movement of each heliostat around its own axis, whose axis is a secondary rotation axis, wherein each said secondary rotation axis is perpendicular to said axis of primary rotation; a first drive means coupled with said rotating shaft to implement the rotation of said rotating shaft about its axis so that when said rotating shaft rotates, the mounted heliostat linear formation rotates around said primary rotation axis; a second drive means supported by said rotating axis for synchronously rotating said linear formation of heliostats around said secondary axis of rotation; a central processing unit for generating control commands for said first drive means and for said second drive means to synchronously rotate said heliostats around said primary rotation axis and / or secondary rotation axis for each reorientation of said heliostats to track the movement of the sun in the sky so that the incident solar radiation is reflected and thus focused on said stationary receiver. 2 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1, wherein said solar central receiver system comprises: a heliostat field consisting of a stationary receiver mounted at a predefined height above ground level; Reflection unit formations placed with reference to said stationary receiver. 3 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 2 characterized in that the rotating axes of said reflection unit formations are placed horizontal, parallel, and preferably at the same level. 4 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 3 characterized in that said rotating axes of said reflection unit formations are preferably placed in an east-west direction or in a north-south direction. 5 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1 characterized in that each heliostat of said linear heliostat formation is placed on said rotating axis with an orientation angle according to its location in a heliostat field similar to a facet of a Fresnel type reflector. 6 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 5 characterized in that said orientation angle at which a heliostat is placed depends on the minimum distance between said stationary receiver and a hypothetical line or cord where a rotating axis is placed on which a heliostat is mounted, and wherein said minimum distance is a length of an opposite side of said orientation angle. 7 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 5 further characterized in that said orientation angle depends on a distance between said stationary receiver to a position of a midpoint of said heliostat mounted on said rotating axis, wherein said distance is a Length of a hypotenuse. 8 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 5 further characterized in that said orientation angle is calculated by finding the sine of said orientation angle, wherein said sine of said orientation angle is equal to said length of said side opposite to said orientation angle divided by said length of said hypotenuse. 9 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1 characterized in that each heliostat of said linear heliostat formation is placed on said rotating axis with an inclination angle according to its location in a heliostat field similar to a facet of a Fresnel type reflector. 10 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 9 characterized in that said angle of inclination to which a heliostat is fixedly fixed is half of an angle 8. 11 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 10 characterized in that said angle 8 depends on a distance between a stationary receiver to a midpoint of said heliostat located in a heliostat field, which is a length of a side opposite to said angle 8. 12 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 10 further characterized in that said angle 8 depends on the height of said stationary receiver from the ground level, which is a length of an adjacent side of said angle 8. 13 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 10 characterized in that said angle 8 is calculated by finding the tangent of said angle 8, wherein said tangent of said angle 8 is equal to said length of said side opposite said angle divided 8 along said length of said adjacent side. 14 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1 characterized in that said rotating shaft comprises a solid rotating structure similar to a pipe having a tubular, rectangular or square shaped cross section and large enough to mount a heliostat formation. 15 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 14 characterized in that said rotating shaft is coupled with a drive means to implement a rotary and oscillating movement around its axis. 16 -A solar central receiver system according to claim 14 characterized in that said rotating shaft supports a drive rod. 17 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 16 characterized in that pusher pins or pusher connections or chain segments or rack segments are fixedly placed on said drive rod, and wherein said drive rod is capable of horizontal movement towards and from, parallel to the axis of said rotating axis. 18 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 14, 16 or 17 characterized in that said rotating shaft supports drive means that are coupled with said drive rod to rotate said linear formation of heliostats synchronously around said axes of secondary rotation to follow the daytime movement of the sun so that said linear formation of heliostats reflects the incident solar radiation on a stationary receiver. 19 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1 characterized in that said mounting means are designed so as to allow the individual pivoting movement of heliostats mounted around their respective said secondary rotation axes; said mounting means comprise: a vertical support rigidly coupled on said rotating shaft; a member or a pair of members pivoting around a pivot pin on said vertical support so that said member or said pair of members freely oscillates around the axis of said pivot pin, whose axis is said secondary axis of rotation; a connection bracket coupled to the top of said member or said pair of members; a horizontal support for supporting a heliostat placed on said connection support so that said member or said pair of members together with said horizontal support freely oscillates around said pivot pin; said horizontal support moves in a horizontal plane around a pin on said connection support so that the mounted heliostat is capable of being placed with a desired orientation angle, wherein said mounted heliostat is fixedly positioned when said orientation angle is reached wanted; said heliostat supported on said horizontal support by means of a hinge coupled on said horizontal support and by a hinge coupled on connection means, wherein said connection means are for maintaining a desired angle of inclination, wherein said connection means are fixed on said horizontal support by means of fixing so that a desired angle of inclination of said heliostat remains fixed. 20 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 19 wherein said member of said pair of members is a grooved arm or a pair of grooved arms. 21 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 19 wherein said member of said pair of members contains a pin-like projection wherein said pin-like projection is moved by said second drive means. 22 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1, 19, 20 or 21 wherein said second drive means comprises: an actuator supported on said rigid rotating shaft to impart horizontal movement to and from, parallel to the axis of said rotating shaft, of a drive rod whose drive rod is supported by said rigid rotating shaft; a pusher mechanism comprising a plurality of pusher connections or a plurality of pusher pins fixedly placed on said drive rod, wherein said pusher connections or said pusher pins are coupled with said member or said pair of members such that said movement towards and from said drive rod results in an oscillatory movement of said member or said pair of members. 23 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1, 19, 20, 21 or 22 wherein said member or said pair of members is a gear sector or a pair of gear sectors that engage with the gear teeth incorporated into said pusher mechanism directly or through a gear or a pair of gears. 24 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1, 19, 20, 21, 22 or 23 wherein said member or said pair of members is a chain sprocket sector or a pair of chain sprockets that are coupled with a chain or a pair of chains incorporated in said pusher mechanism. 25 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1 characterized in that said stationary receiver mounted at a predefined height above ground level is capable of withstanding high temperatures and contains a heat transfer fluid such as water or air or molten salts or synthetic oil or liquid metals, wherein said stationary receiver is a vessel that contains the heat transfer fluid or a boiler or a heat exchanger or a motor, a thermal cycle engine or a thermovoltaic generator or solar cells or a thermopile. 26 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said stationary receiver is a collector reflector (curved reflector mirror) placed on one side of said heliostat field at a predefined height above ground level, wherein said collector reflector again reflects and focuses the concentrated solar radiation delivered on a secondary receiver, wherein said secondary receiver is placed at a focal point of said collector reflector. 27 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 26, characterized in that said secondary receiver is a container containing the heat transfer fluid or a boiler or a heat exchanger or a motor, a thermal cycle motor or a thermovoltaic generator or solar cells or a thermopile. 28 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1 or 2 characterized in that said stationary receiver is a collimator reflector mounted on a tower located centrally at a predefined height above ground level, wherein said collimator reflector is placed coaxially and perpendicularly with respect to an optical axis of said solar central receiver system; wherein the focused solar radiation delivered by said heliostats on said collimator reflector is collimated and reflected in a luminous tube, wherein said luminous tube is placed below said collimator reflector so that the axes of said luminous tube and said collimator reflector coincide with the optical axis of said solar central receiver system; and where the solar radiation concentrated and collimated in said luminous tube is directed and circulated for lighting inside buildings or for hybrid solar lighting. 29 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1 characterized in that said reflection unit comprises: a rigid rotating shaft rotatable around its axis, whose axis is a primary rotation axis; a first drive means coupled with said rotating shaft to implement the rotation of said rotating shaft about its axis so that when said rotating shaft rotates, the mounted heliostat linear formation rotates around said primary rotation axis; a linear formation of mechanically connected mounting means placed on said rotating shaft; said linear formation of mounting means comprises: a plurality of spindle shafts that pass through said rigid rotating shaft and pivotally engage on said rigid rotating shaft, wherein the axis of each said spindle shaft is a secondary rotation axis, whose secondary rotation axis is perpendicular to said primary rotation axis; a pair of trapezoidal / elliptical flanges permanently engaged in ‘a desired first position’ at either end of each said stub axle; a connecting member that joins said pair of trapezoidal / elliptical flanges; a pair of end members fixedly coupled at two ends of said pair of trapezoidal / elliptical flanges; a linear formation of heliostats placed on said rigid rotating axis, wherein said linear formation of heliostats comprises a plurality of heliostats having a central hole / opening; said rigid rotating shaft is placed through said central holes / openings of said linear heliostat formation; said linear formation of heliostats mounted on said linear formation of mounting means such that each heliostat of said linear formation of heliostats is pivotally mounted and fixedly engaged in ‘a second desired position’ on said end members of said mounting means; said 'a first desired position' of each said pair of trapezoidal / elliptical flanges together with said 'a second desired position' of each said heliostat of said linear heliostat formation results in a position of each said heliostat similar to a facet of a reflector Fresnel type; an actuator supported on said rigid rotating shaft to impart horizontal movement to and from, parallel to the axis of said rotating shaft, to a drive rod, whose drive rod is supported by said rigid rotating shaft; a pusher mechanism comprising a plurality of pusher connections or pusher pins fixedly placed on said drive rod wherein each of said pusher connection or said pusher pin is coupled with said connecting member so that movement to and from said rod actuation results in an oscillatory movement of said pair of trapezoidal / elliptical flanges around said spindle shaft. 30 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1 characterized in that a plurality of said rigid rotating shafts are linearly coupled to each other so that only one of said first drive means implements the rotation of said plurality of rigid rotating shafts coupled around of its axes, and wherein only one of said second drive means synchronously rotates said linear formation of heliostats on each of said rigid rotating axes linearly coupled around said secondary axes of rotation. 31 - A solar central receiver system according to claim 1 characterized in that said central processing unit under its control program executes routines for solar tracking using a stored application program, wherein said control program predicts the location of the sun in the sky based on the location of the sun in the sky based on the date, time, longitude and latitude related to the location of said solar central receiving system; and wherein using the predicted location of the sun in the sky, entrances of sensing means, the height and location of said stationary object, and the height of said linear formations of heliostats above ground level, said central processing unit periodically calculates the required rotation of the heliostats around the primary rotation axis and / or secondary rotation axis so that said heliostats reflect the incident solar radiation on said stationary object; said central processing unit under its control program generates control commands for said calculation of the required rotation of the heliostats for only one of said first drive means to rotate the related rotational axis around said primary rotation axis to follow a movement apparent from the sun in the sky, or said central processing unit under its control program generates control commands for a plurality of said first drive means to synchronously rotate the rotating axes around said primary rotation axis to follow a movement apparent of the sun in the sky; said central processing unit under its control program generates control commands for said calculation of the required rotation of the heliostats for only one of said second drive means for synchronously rotating said related linear formation of heliostats around said axis of rotation secondary to follow an apparent movement of the sun in the sky, or said central processing unit under its control program generates control commands for a plurality of said second drive means to synchronously rotate said linear formations of related heliostats around said secondary rotation axis to follow an apparent movement of the sun in the sky.  SPANISH OFFICE OF THE PATENTS AND BRAND Application no .: 201190074  SPAIN Date of submission of the application: 06.18.2010   Priority Date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE   51 Int. Cl.: See Additional Sheet RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

56 Documents cited Claims Affected

X

US 4317031 A (FINDELL MAX) 23.02.1982, column 4, line 46 - column 6, line 2; column 9, lines 18-34; column 12, lines 1-21; Figures 1-4,8,12. 1-13.25,30

Y

14-18,22-24,

26-28.31

TO

19-21.29

Y

DE 102007001824 A1 (POSSELT HERMANN et al.) 17.07.2008, the whole document. 14-18,22-24

Y

US 5578140 A (YOGEV AMNON et al.) 26.11.1996, column 7, line 50 - column 8, line 5; figure 3. 26.27

Y

US 4297000 A (FRIES JAMES E) 27.10.1981, column 2, line 23 - column 3, line 26; Figures 1-3. 28

Y

TW 200921027 A (TAU LIN et al.) 05/16/2009, figures & Summary of the EPODOC database. Recovered from EPOQUE; Accession number TW-200921027-A. 31

TO

DE 102004054755 A1 (FACHHOCHSCHULE AACHEN et al.) 02.02.2006, the whole document. one

TO

GB 751050 A (ALBERT LEONARD GARDNER) 27.06.1956, the whole document. one

P, A

DE 102008025814 A1 (DECKERS HENDRIK) 03.12.2009, the whole document. one

TO

DE 102004018151 A1 (NEFF SIEGFRIED) 27.10.2005, the whole document. one

TO

JP 2003324210 A (KARASAWA YOSHITAKA) 14.11.2003, figures & Summary of the EPODOC database. Recovered from EPOQUE; Accession number JP-2003324210-A. one

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the art O: refers to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the date of priority submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

This report has been prepared • for all claims • for claims no:

Date of completion of the report 01.10.2012

Examiner D. Hermida Cibeira Page 1/4

 REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE Application number: 201190074 CLASSIFICATION OBJECT OF THE APPLICATION F24J2 / 16 (2006.01) F24J2 / 38 (2006.01) F24J2 / 54 (2006.01) F24J2 / 18 (2006.01) Minimum documentation sought (classification system followed by classification symbols) F24J Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, search terms used) INVENTIONS, EPODOC State of the Art Report Page 2/4  WRITTEN OPINION  Application number: 201190074 Date of Written Opinion: 01.10.2012 Statement

Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims 1-31 Claims IF NOT

Inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LP11 / 1986)

Claims Claims 19-21.29 1-18.22-28,30,31 IF NOT

The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. This requirement was evaluated during the formal and technical examination phase of the application (Article 31.2 Law 11/1986).  Opinion Base.- This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published. State of the Art Report Page 3/4  WRITTEN OPINION  Application number: 201190074  1. Documents considered.- The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number publication date

D01

US 4317031 A (FINDELL MAX) 23.02.1982

D02

DE 102007001824 A1 (POSSELT HERMANN et al.) 07.17.2008

D03

US 5578140 A (YOGEV AMNON et al.) 11/26/1996

D04

US 4297000 A (FRIES JAMES E) 27.10.1981

D05

TW 200921027 A (TAU LIN et al.) 05/16/2009

D06

DE 102004054755 A1 (FACHHOCHSCHULE AACHEN et al.) 02.02.2006

D07

GB 751050 A (ALBERT LEONARD GARDNER) 27.06.1956

D08

DE 102008025814 A1 (DECKERS HENDRIK) 03.12.2009

D09

DE 102004018151 A1 (NEFF SIEGFRIED) 10/27/2005

D10

JP 2003324210 A (KARASAWA YOSHITAKA) 11/14/2003

 2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of March 20, on Patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement The present invention relates to a solar central receiver system that uses a common positioning mechanism for heliostats. Document D01 is considered to be the closest in the state of the art to the object of claim 1. In said document, to which the following reference numerals belong, a solar central receiver system is disclosed (column 4, line 46-column 6, line 2; column 9, lines 18-34; column 12, lines 1-21; figures 1-4, 8, 12) comprising a stationary receiver (52) and a reflection unit (81), which contains a formation of heliostats (32) that move together in two axes to follow the movement of the sun and focus the solar radiation on the stationary receiver (52) (summary). Said reflection unit (81) comprises (figures 1-4): rigid members (2, 3, 4) that rotate around primary axes of rotation (5, 6, 7), linear formations of mounting means (9, 10 , 11 etc.) mechanically connected placed on said rigid members (2, 3, 4) and linear formations of heliostats (32) flat on said mounting means (9, 10, 11 etc.) whose orientation and inclination angles differ ( Figures 2, 12) similar to the facets of a Fresnel reflector. Said mechanically connected mounting means (9, 10, 11 etc.) allow an individual pivoting movement of each heliostat (32) around a secondary rotation axis (12, 13, 14 etc.) perpendicular to the primary rotation axis (5 , 6, 7). The reflection unit (81) also comprises (Figure 1): a first drive means (8) coupled to a rigid member (3) capable of rotating the linear formations of heliostats (32) around the primary axes of rotation (5, 6, 7), a second drive means (15, 16) supported by two rigid members (2, 4) capable of rotating the linear formations of heliostats (32) around their secondary rotation axes (12 , 13, 14 etc.) and a central processing unit (Figure 8) that generates control commands for the drive means (8, 15, 16) so that the heliostats (32) follow the movement of the sun. Some differences are observed between the invention disclosed in document D01 and the object of claim 1. Specifically, it is noted that the rigid members (2, 3, 4) do not have an approximately cylindrical or prismatic shape ("axis" shape) and it is noted that the second drive means (15, 16) is not supported by the same rigid member (3) that supports the first drive means (8). Due to these differences, claim 1 and its dependent claims 2-31 are considered to be new (Art. 6, LP 11/1986). As regards the inventive activity of claim 1, the differences found are considered minor and that a person skilled in the art starting from document D01 would clearly reproduce the object of said claim as a design alternative (column 12, lines 48-54). Thus, it could obviously mount a single second drive means on the central rigid member (3) and could obviously redesign the rigid members (2, 3, 4) with approximately cylindrical or prismatic coaxial shapes with the rotation axes primary (5, 6, 7), which would facilitate its rotation through the first drive means (8). Therefore, it is estimated that claim 1 does not imply inventive activity (Art. 8, LP 11/1986). On the other hand, it is also estimated: that the dependent claims 2-13, 25 and 30 do not imply inventive activity (Art. 8, LP 11/1986) for a person skilled in the art from document D01, that the dependent claims 14 -18, 22-24 do not imply inventive activity (Art. 8, LP 11/1986) for a person skilled in the art who evidently combined documents D01 and D02, that dependent claims 26, 27 do not imply inventive activity (Art .8, LP 11/1986) for a person skilled in the art who clearly combined documents D01 and D03, that dependent claim 28 does not imply inventive activity (Art. 8, LP 11/1986) for a person skilled in the art that documents D01 and D04 should be combined in an evident manner, and that dependent claim 31 does not imply inventive activity (Art. 8, LP 11/1986) for a person skilled in the art that would combine documents D01 and D05 in an evident manner. Finally, it is considered that the dependent claims 19-21, 29 do involve inventive activity (Art. 8, LP 11/1986). Documents D06-D10 reflect the state of the art. State of the Art Report Page 4/4