The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 02, 1977
Filed:
Nov. 20, 1974
Philip D Smith, Pleasant Hill, CA (US);
Other;
Abstract
A solar collector is disclosed which collects radiant energy for transfer as thermal energy to a fluid with high efficiency. An energy absorbing structure is mounted between a transparent front panel and opaque back panel of a housing. The energy absorbing structure comprises a plurality of open-ended cells having parallel axes which are oriented at right angles to the transparent panel for receiving the radiant energy. Pairs of adjacent cells share common sidewalls to achieve a high surface area to frontal area ratio. The surfaces of the sidewalls have a high absorbtivity coefficient for efficiently absorbing the radiant energy, and the sidewalls have a high thermal conductivity for efficiently transfering thermal energy to a fluid which is directed through the cells. In one embodiment the cells are polygonal in cross-section to form a honeycomb structure, and in another embodiment the cells are substantially circular in cross-section. Means is provided to direct a fluid such as air or water into the housing and through the cells in heat exchange relationship with the sidewalls for absorbing and carrying away the energy collected by the cells.