California Institute of Technology

Paul E Dimotakis

Daniel J Hoppe

Thomas A Cwik

Daniel B Lang

The present invention relates to concentrating solar-power systems and, more particularly, beam-forming concentrating solar thermal array power systems. A solar thermal array power system is provided, including a plurality of solar concentrators arranged in pods. Each solar concentrator includes a solar collector, one or more beam-forming elements, and one or more beam-steering elements. The solar collector is dimensioned to collect and divert incoming rays of sunlight. The beam-forming elements intercept the diverted rays of sunlight, and are shaped to concentrate the rays of sunlight into a beam. The steering elements are shaped, dimensioned, positioned, and/or oriented to deflect the beam toward a beam output path. The beams from the concentrators are converted to heat at a receiver, and the heat may be temporarily stored or directly used to generate electricity.

Beam-forming concentrating solar thermal array power systems

A signal responsive burst period timer and counter is provided for laser Doppler velocimetry, and the like, by bandpass filtering a signal burst and testing the filtered signal for exceeding a first level (V.sub.O -V.sub.L) and a second level (V.sub.O +V.sub.L), and subsequently crossing a reference level (V.sub.O) from the second level, and in that order, to qualify each cycle of the signal burst for timing and counting. A timing system checks the reference crossing of every qualified cycle, in accordance with the level crossing logic criteria described above, to determine that it occurs within a prescribed time interval as measured from the previous qualified reference crossing. When the sequence ends, either because a predetermined number of qualified cycles have been received or because the signal fails to meet one of the amplitude or time criteria described above, the burst period counter stops, the data is read out and the counter resets itself to process the next burst.

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Altadena, CA, United States of America

Paul E Dimotakis