Solar furnace and methods of use thereof

Abstract

A solar furnace for heating a target having a heliostat with a reflective surface having a reflective portion, a surface altering mechanism capable of altering the shape of the reflective portion, and a target having a target area, the reflective surface capable of reflecting radiant energy toward a target.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This patent application is a continuation of non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 12 / 916,066, filed on Oct. 29, 2010. This patent application claims the benefit of the priority of provisional patent application 61 / 601,513, filed on Feb. 21, 2012, and the PCT patent application PCT / ______ / ______ filed on Feb. 21, 2013. Each of the non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 12 / 916,066, PCT patent application PCT / ______ / ______ and the provisional patent application 61 / 601,513 are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]Manufacturing processes for plastic products typically include heating various forms of plastic (e.g., pellets, powders, sheets, etc.) and forming the plastic into the desired shape. Two very common forms of plastic molding are rotational molding and vacuum molding.[0003]Rotational molding includes a hollow mold that can rotate in all three axis of the three dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. The hollow m...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent involves a heliostat with a mechanism to reduce the amount of wind that it captures. It also includes a solar furnace with a special reflector that directs the energy reflected by the heliostat in a more precise manner. These features improve the efficiency and accuracy of the solar energy system.

Problems solved by technology

In both rotational molding systems and vacuum molding systems, the energy cost for the heat portion of the manufacturing process is an ever larger portion of the end product cost.

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