Solar energy collection system

Abstract

Sunlight is localized at a solar cell by means of a lens in conjunction with a solar energy trap with very low losses. The lens is a standard magnifying lens which concentrates the sunlight to a spot which is a small percentage of the total area of the lens. The lens is fixed at a tilt angle which is in accordance with the latitude of the site of the solar collection. The daily arc of the sun across the face of the lens produces a smooth arc path of the spot in three dimensional spaces. At or near the smooth arc in space, a guide which may be a secondary mirror surface or an opening guides the light into a solar trap. The solar trap is a fully mirrored enclosed space which permits light to enter but not leave the trap. The light in the trap is guided to a solar cell within the trap with reflected and scattered light being absorbed by the solar cell.

Description

[0001] This application is based on Provisional Application No. 60 / 387,731 filed Jun. 11, 2002.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] This invention relates to a system for generating electrical energy from solar energy and more particularly to such a system which employs a solar cell onto which solar light is concentrated. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] Devices for generating electric energy from solar energy are well known in the art and as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,057,505 issued May 2, 2000 may employ a compartment, a “cusp” or trap having mirrored sides which receives the solar energy and by means of a lens located within the compartment or trap concentrates the received solar energy onto a solar cell within the compartment. Such prior art devices generally require the tracking of the sun both in longitude and latitude on a daily and seasonal basis to obtain the needed concentration of solar energy, increasing the complexity and ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007] It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a simpler less complex and less expensive system for concentrating solar energy onto a solar cell to generate electrical energy;

[0008] It is a further object of this invention to provide a solar energy collection system in which the solar energy is focused onto the solar cell by means of a lens which is external to the compartment in which the solar cell is mounted thereby obviating the need to constantly adjust the positioning of the system with changes in the relative position of the sun.

Problems solved by technology

Such prior art devices generally require the tracking of the sun both in longitude and latitude on a daily and seasonal basis to obtain the needed concentration of solar energy, increasing the complexity and cost while decreasing reliability.

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