JPH0113018B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a solar energy collection and storage device, and more particularly, to a solar energy collection and storage device, in particular, sunlight is focused using an optical system such as a lens and introduced into a light pipe through which it can be directed to any desired location. In a solar energy collection and storage device that uses sunlight to cause a photochemical reaction in an inducer substance and store solar energy in the inducer substance for illumination and other uses. , the device is configured to be suitable for use in outer space, that is, outside the atmosphere.

The applicant has already proposed various techniques for focusing sunlight using a lens or the like, introducing it into a light guide, and transmitting it to any desired location through the light guide for illumination or other purposes. be. In addition, recently, light is irradiated onto an inducing substance to cause a photochemical reaction in the inducing substance, thereby accumulating light energy in the inducing substance, and later extracting the energy accumulated in the inducing substance as thermal energy. technology (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1983-
(Refer to Publication No. 124657)) is attracting increasing interest.

Furthermore, recently, space shuttles have become possible, and securing energy for use within the shuttle has become an important issue.Currently, the general idea is to use solar energy. Collecting solar energy has become a major issue.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and in particular effectively combines both of the above-mentioned technologies to effectively utilize solar energy outside the atmosphere.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing an example of a solar energy collection and storage device separately proposed by the applicant, that is, a solar energy collection and storage device suitable for use in the atmosphere. Figure 3-
This is a view seen from the line direction, and in the figure, 1 is a lens for focusing sunlight L, 2 is a light guide whose light receiving end 2a is disposed near the focal position of the lens 1, and 3 is a light guide for focusing the sunlight L. A fluid passage made of a transparent body disposed behind the light-receiving end 2a of the conductor 2. In the passage 3, an inducing substance 4 that absorbs light energy and causes a photochemical reaction to accumulate energy flows, for example, in the direction of the arrow. It is becoming more and more common. That is, the lens 1 is controlled to automatically face the sun by a well-known device (not shown), and the sunlight L focused by the lens 1 is received at the focal position of the lens 1. Sunlight that is introduced into a light guide 2 having an end 2a and transmitted through the light guide 2 to any desired location and used for illumination or other purposes, but which is not introduced into the light guide 2. is irradiated onto the inducer 4 flowing in the transparent fluid passage 3, causes a photochemical reaction to occur in the inducer, converts the inducer into an isomer with a high energy level, and stores energy. In this way, the induced substance that has accumulated energy flows in the direction of the arrow and is recovered, and then, for example, at night, when a catalyst is added, it returns to the original substance while generating heat, and the generated heat is converted into thermal energy. can be used. In addition,
The induced substance that has returned to its original form in this way is again stored with energy and reused as described above. Therefore, the solar energy collection and storage device described above is used in the atmosphere,
The light component in the ultraviolet region is small, so even if the sunlight focused by the lens 1 is directly introduced into the light guide 2, the light component in the ultraviolet region will not be introduced into the light guide 2 to a large extent. Without this, almost only visible light components are introduced into the light guide 2. In addition, in the outside atmosphere, there are few ultraviolet rays, so a sensitizer is mixed into the inducer to remove components below the ultraviolet wavelength, for example, components below about 360 nm.
The wavelength is set at around 500 nm to effectively carry out photochemical reactions. However, when the above device is used outside the atmosphere, there is a drawback that a large amount of ultraviolet rays are introduced into the light guide 2 because of the large amount of ultraviolet rays.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and in particular, outside the atmosphere, it introduces visible light that is close to only the visible light component, that is, with less ultraviolet rays, into the light guide, and at the same time introduces visible light that is present in large amounts outside the atmosphere. This method effectively utilizes ultraviolet rays to accumulate energy in the inducer.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a main part for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. The operative parts are provided with the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 3 and 4. Therefore, the present invention is directed to sunlight outside the atmosphere, which contains a large amount of short-wave ultraviolet rays such as X-rays and vacuum ultraviolet rays, medium-long wavelength ultraviolet rays, etc. The sensitizer required in the apparatus shown in the figure is unnecessary, and if the sensitizer is mixed there is a risk that the sensitizer will be destroyed by strong ultraviolet rays. The most characteristic effect of the present invention is that strong ultraviolet rays and the like are absorbed and utilized by the inducing substance, thereby introducing these short wavelength light components into the light guide 2. Therefore, only good quality and safe visible light will be introduced into the light guide. Further, according to the present invention, since the transparent fluid passage 3 is disposed in front of the lens 1, there is no need to provide a hole for inserting the light guide 2 in the fluid passage. It also has the advantage that the structure is simple and inexpensive, and assembly work is easy. Furthermore, in the present invention, as shown in the figure, a solar cell 5 is provided below the transparent fluid passage 3 through which the inducing substance 4 flows, and the light that has passed through the inducing substance 4 is effectively directed to the solar cell. Let it act on
Solar energy can also be used as electrical energy. In this way, the short wavelength light components are absorbed by the inducing substance and do not reach the solar cells, so these short wavelength light components are absorbed by the solar cells. Therefore, the efficiency of the solar cell does not decrease due to the accumulation of thermal energy.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of essential parts for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of main parts showing an example of a solar energy collection and storage device suitable for use in the atmosphere.
The figure is a view seen from the - line direction in FIG. 3. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Lens, 2... Light guide, 3... Fluid path of a transparent body, 4... Induction substance, 5... Solar cell.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 comprising an optical system for collecting sunlight, a transparent fluid passage disposed in front of the optical system, and a solar cell disposed behind the optical system; Thus, the focused sunlight is introduced into a light guide having a light receiving end disposed at the focal point of the optical system, and the light energy causes a photochemical reaction in the fluid passage to accumulate energy. Solar energy collection characterized in that an inducing substance is passed through the inducing substance, energy is stored in the inducing substance, and sunlight not introduced into the light guide by the solar cell is converted into electrical energy. and storage devices.