JP2006242548A - Stationary condenser lens - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stationary condenser lens receiving solar light by an omnidirectional light receiver, and condensing the light at a lower given position. <P>SOLUTION: This stationary condenser lens is composed of a light ray direction converting element for allowing the light ray entering from the upper multi-direction with an angle of incident of a certain range, to reach a lower transparent light emitting plate while repeating total reflection inside of an upper transparent light receiving plate, and to be radiated to the direction of a lower limited-angular range from a position where the total reflection can not be achieved, the omnidirectional light receiver constituted by tightly storing the light ray direction converging elements inside of a box having approximately equilateral light ray permeable surfaces on its upper face and lower face and a reflecting film on an inner surface of a side face, and capable of receiving the solar light of incidence angle which can not be captured by a single light ray direction converting element, and an omnidirectional light condensing mechanism formed by arranging a number of omnidirectional light receivers on a stationary supporting frame hemispherically projecting in the airspace direction, condensing the solar light coming from the upper omni-direction within a certain range inside of the supporting frame, and being simultaneously operated as a converging lens to the omni-direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

          The present invention relates to a stationary condensing lens for concentrating sunlight and converting the light energy into electric energy or heat energy by a photoelectric converter or a photothermal converter so that it can be used effectively. is there.

Technical background

          There is a light collecting device for collecting sunlight so that the light energy of sunlight is converted into electric energy or heat energy by a photoelectric converter or a photothermal converter. Conventionally, as this condensing device, there are one using a lens and a reflecting mirror, and one using a solar cell panel and a heat collecting panel.

          However, a conventional light collecting device using a lens or a reflecting mirror has a small light receiving angle and it is necessary to accurately enter sunlight at a certain angle. Therefore, a solar tracking device having a complicated and highly accurate moving mechanism is not available. It is necessary and expensive. In addition, this condensing device also has a problem that the condensing efficiency is remarkably lowered when the incident direction of sunlight is unclear during cloudy weather.

          In addition, solar cell panels and heat collector panels that can collect sunlight from multiple directions and can be installed on the roof, but are generally fixed and used. Therefore, a panel having a large light receiving area in consideration of a loss due to the fact that the light cannot be collected is required and expensive.

          The present invention has been devised in view of these problems, and all the sunlight that is incident while changing the direction of light rays from the upper direction in all directions is arranged on a hemispherical support frame that bulges upward. Highly efficient throughout the year, including not only direct light from the sun but also reflected light from the surroundings, while receiving light with a directional receiver and radiating to a fixed position in the support frame from below, always standing still. It is an object to provide a low-cost, mass-produced stationary condensing lens that can condense at a low speed.

          A first invention is a condensing lens for stationaryly receiving sunlight, a transparent light receiving plate having a substantially trapezoidal side surface and a substantially rhombic cross section at an upper portion, and a substantially sword shaped lower portion. A transparent light-emitting plate with a side face and the same roughly rhombic cross section as the upper part is connected, and incident light with a certain range of incident angles from multiple directions above is totally reflected inside and captured. It consists of a stationary condensing lens having a light beam direction changing element that transmits to the lower part while repeating total reflection and radiates in the direction of a limited angle range below from a position where the total reflection condition is not satisfied.

          The second invention is a condensing lens that receives sunlight stationary and has a transparent surface on the upper and lower surfaces and a substantially equilateral triangular light transmission surface inside a box having a reflective film on the inner surface of the side surface. The light beam direction conversion elements according to claim 1 are closely packed, so that sunlight having an incident angle that cannot be captured by a single light beam direction conversion element can be captured, and light is received from all directions on the upper surface and is substantially vertically below the lower surface. It consists of a stationary condenser lens with an omnidirectional light receiver.

A third invention is a condensing lens for stationaryly receiving sunlight, wherein a large number of omnidirectional light receivers according to claim 2 are arranged on a stationary support frame that swells in a hemispherical shape in the sky. In addition to supporting its weight, sunlight coming from all directions above the support frame is received by an omnidirectional light receiver and condensed by radiating it to a certain range inside the support frame, and simultaneously in all directions It consists of a stationary type condensing lens having an omnidirectional condensing mechanism that can operate as a convex lens.

The omnidirectional light-receiving device according to claim 2, in which a large number of light-direction-changing elements according to claim 1 are housed densely inside, is perpendicular to the center of the light-receiving surface for light incident from all directions above. It can radiate below a limited angular range with respect to the axis.
Also, since the vertical axis passing through the center of the upper and lower surfaces of the substantially equilateral triangle of the omnidirectional receiver passes through the center of the circumscribed sphere, the sun that has passed through the omnidirectional receiver arranged in large numbers on the surface of the circumscribed sphere The light is collected near the center of the circumscribed sphere regardless of the position on the spherical surface that has passed.
For this reason, according to the omnidirectional light collecting mechanism according to claim 3, the stationary type condensing lens changes its direction with the operation of the sun without requiring light beam tracking by a complicated and highly accurate moving mechanism. Received light is always focused at a certain position with high efficiency.

          In the omnidirectional light receiver according to claim 2, in order to widen the incident angle range in which sunlight can be received, the light direction conversion elements are densely housed in a relatively small box of a substantially equilateral triangle, and the light receiving area is small. However, the structure is provided with a reflection film on the side surface that operates as if it has an infinite light receiving area without being limited by the outer edge. For this reason, mass production such as injection molding is possible with a plastic such as acrylic having the same shape, and it can be manufactured at low cost. By appropriately changing the arrangement, it can be configured as a flat surface or a curved surface, and the light receiving area can be freely changed. In addition, it is possible to easily improve the mounting efficiency to an existing solar cell panel.

          Since the omnidirectional light collecting mechanism according to claim 3 is substantially spherical, not only the light directly incident from the sun but also the light reflected by surrounding clouds or the like is utilized for the flat solar cell panel. It can collect light more efficiently than above. In addition, most of the light rays incident on the stationary condensing lens are transmitted through the space or totally reflected inside the optical medium to be condensed, so that the loss is extremely low. Furthermore, these members can be mass-produced by injection molding or the like, and are basically maintenance-free and inexpensive.

An embodiment of a stationary condenser lens according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. This static condensing lens changes the shape of the omnidirectional condensing mechanism 11 according to the application so that it can be used with a solar cell or a water heater attached to the lower part. Since there is no limitation on the size of the hemispherical light collecting mechanism, it is efficient according to the shape of the solar cell or the like. Moreover, since it is always exposed to sunlight and wind and rain, it is comprised with the member excellent in light resistance deterioration property and a weather resistance.
It is desirable that the light beam direction conversion element 2 is as small as possible because the omnidirectional light receiver 9 and the omnidirectional light collecting mechanism 11 can be made thin and light. Further, the light beam direction conversion element 2 and the non-directional light receiver 9 perform necessary surface treatment in order to reduce transmission loss and reflection loss.

          An embodiment of the light beam direction conversion element 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The light beam redirecting element 2 is made of transparent plastic and has a light receiving plate 1 having a substantially trapezoidal side surface at the top and a substantially diamond-shaped cross section 4, and has a substantially sword-shaped side surface at the bottom, The light emitting plate 3 having a cross section 5 is connected. The light beam A incident from the upper side surface is trapped inside the light beam direction conversion element 2 by the inclined surface extending downward in the upper trapezoidal shape, and reaches the lower portion while repeating total reflection. The lower sword-shaped side surface has a substantially trapezoidal upper part and the slope of the slope is reversed, so the captured light beam does not satisfy the total reflection condition as it repeats total reflection, and from that position the light beam redirecting element 2 is emitted in a certain direction outside.

          Like the light beam A, the light beam B incident from the upper upper surface is captured inside the light beam direction conversion element 2 by the substantially trapezoidal upper slope, reaches the lower part while repeating total reflection, and is emitted in a certain direction. The The light ray C incident from the upper side surface has a large incident angle with respect to the inclined surface, so that it is not trapped inside the light beam direction conversion element by the upper substantially trapezoidal inclined surface, and passes through the opposite substantially trapezoidal inclined surface to transmit the light beam direction converting element. 2 is emitted.

          The light beam redirecting element 2 has a substantially rhombic cross section at both the upper and lower portions, so that it is easy to guide a light beam trapped inside and repeating total reflection downward. The angle of the side of the lower substantially sword shape is as acute as possible in order to reduce the radiation angle of the emitted light.

          An embodiment of the omnidirectional light receiver 9 will be described with reference to FIG. The outer box of the omnidirectional light receiver 9 is made of transparent plastic, has upper and lower surfaces 6 and 7 of a substantially equilateral triangle, and includes a reflective film 10 on the side surface 8. The shape of a substantially equilateral triangle is four pieces that are formed by connecting the midpoint of each side of the regular triangle of the regular icosahedron inscribed in the sphere onto the sphere from the center of the sphere and each point of the original equilateral triangle. Determine based on a small equilateral triangle. The height of the side surface 8 is determined by the size of the light beam direction conversion element 2. For this reason, when many omnidirectional light receivers 9 are arranged, the shape of the support frame is adjusted to secure a target light receiving area. Since the side reflection film 10 of the omnidirectional light receiver 9 reflects metal, it is assumed that the reflection efficiency is high.

The path state of the incident light beam in the embodiment of the omnidirectional light receiver 9 will be described with reference to FIG. A light beam D having a small incident angle incident from above the upper surface is incident on and is captured by the light direction conversion element 2 and reaches the lower portion while repeating total reflection. Radiated in a certain direction from the side of the lower sword shape.
A light beam E having a large incident angle incident from the upper right side of the omnidirectional light receiver 9 is transmitted without being captured by the light beam direction conversion element 2 and is incident on the adjacent light beam direction conversion element 2. Here, too, the incident angle is large and the light is transmitted without being captured. The same operation is repeated, but the incident angle becomes gradually smaller by an angle proportional to the number of transmitted light beam direction conversion elements 2 due to the substantially trapezoidal side surface inclination angle of the beam direction conversion element 2. It is captured by any one of the light beam direction conversion elements 2, reaches the lower part while repeating total reflection in the same manner as the light beam D, and is emitted in a certain direction from the lower side surface of the substantially sword shape.
A light beam F having a slightly large incident angle incident from the right side of the upper surface of the omnidirectional light receiver 9 is transmitted without being captured by the light beam direction conversion element 2 and reaches the side reflection film. After the reflection, the light is redirected by the light beam direction conversion element 2 in the same manner as the light beam D, reaches the lower part while repeating the total reflection, and is emitted in a certain direction from the lower side surface of the substantially sword shape.

An embodiment of the omnidirectional light collecting mechanism 11 will be described with reference to FIG. The omnidirectional light collecting mechanism 11 is a hemispherical support frame that is made of a transparent plastic or a thin metal plate and bulges upward, and supports a large number of omnidirectional light receivers 9 on the surface.
Sunlight coming from all directions passes through the omnidirectional light receiver 9 and then is condensed at a condensing position 13 near the center of the support frame to behave like a convex lens. The irradiated area at the condensing position 13 is determined by the dispersion angle of the radiated light from the light beam direction changing element 2 and the light receiving area of the omnidirectional light receiver 9. The smaller the dispersion angle of the emitted light, the smaller the area, but the production of the light beam direction conversion element 2 requires accuracy. The omnidirectional light collecting mechanism 11 is generally installed on a ground plane, but can also be installed on the roof of a house. The arrangement of the omnidirectional light receiver 9, the condensing position, etc. are determined according to the operation of the sun.

          The light beam G incident on the omnidirectional light receiver 12a on the omnidirectional light collecting mechanism 11 from the upper right direction reaches the light condensing position 13 after passing through the omnidirectional light receiver 12a. The light beam H incident from the same direction passes through the omnidirectional light receiver 12a, and then reaches a condensing position 13 slightly away from the light beam G due to the difference in the dispersion angle of the radiated light of the light beam direction conversion element 2. The light beam I that has entered the part away from the light beam G and the light beam H in the same direction reaches the condensing position 13 after passing through the omnidirectional light receiver 12b. The light beam J incident on the omnidirectional light receiver 12b from the upper right direction reaches the condensing position 13 after passing through the omnidirectional light receiver 12b.

    It is a front view which shows embodiment of the light beam direction conversion element 2 of the stationary type | mold condenser lens which concerns on this invention.     It is a perspective view which shows embodiment of the omnidirectional light receiver 9 of the stationary type | mold condenser lens which concerns on this invention.     It is a side view which shows embodiment of the omnidirectional light receiver 9 of the stationary type | mold condenser lens which concerns on this invention.     It is a side view which shows embodiment of the omnidirectional condensing mechanism 11 of the stationary type | mold condenser lens which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Light beam direction conversion element light-receiving plate 2 Light beam direction conversion element 3 Light beam direction conversion element light emission board 4 Light beam direction conversion element upper cross section 5 Light beam direction conversion element connection cross section 6 Omnidirectional light receiver upper surface 7 Omnidirectional light receiver lower surface 8 All Directional receiver side 9 Omnidirectional receiver 10 Omnidirectional receiver side (reflective film)
11 omnidirectional condensing mechanism 12a, b omnidirectional light receiver 13 condensing positions A to J

Claims (3)

A condensing lens that stops and receives sunlight,
A transparent light-receiving plate (1) having a substantially trapezoidal side surface at the top and a substantially rhombus-shaped cross section, and a transparent light-emitting plate having a substantially sword-shaped side surface at the bottom and the same rhombus-shaped cross section as the top (3) is connected, and the incident light beam with a certain range of incident angles from multiple directions above is totally reflected inside and captured and transmitted to the lower part while repeating total reflection. Stationary type condensing lens having a light beam redirecting element (2) that radiates in the direction of a limited angle range below from a position that does not hold A condensing lens that stops and receives sunlight,
The light beam according to claim 1, wherein the light transmitting surface (6), (7) is transparent on the upper surface and the lower surface, and inside the box having the reflective film (10) on the inner surface of the side surface (8). The direction conversion elements (2) are packed and stored so that sunlight having an incident angle that cannot be captured by a single light direction conversion element (2) can also be captured, and light is received from all directions on the upper surface and emitted almost vertically below the lower surface. Static condenser lens with omnidirectional light receiver (9) A condensing lens that stops and receives sunlight,
A large number of omnidirectional light receivers (9) according to claim 2 are arranged on a stationary support frame that swells in a hemispherical shape in the sky direction, supports the weight thereof, and comes from all directions above the support frame. The omnidirectional light is received by the omnidirectional light receiver (9) and condensed by radiating it to a certain range inside the support frame, so that it can operate as a convex lens simultaneously in all directions. -Type condensing lens having a light condensing mechanism (11)

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