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:
Jun. 22, 1982
Filed:
May. 30, 1980
Douglas B Osborn, Mission Viejo, CA (US);
Robert L Pons, Mission Viejo, CA (US);
Ford Aerospace & Communications Corporation, Detroit, MI (US);
Abstract
A solar converter is disclosed which has particular applicability at the focal point of a parabolic concentrator. The converter absorbs solar thermal radiation in a cavity type receiver and transports the heat via a secondary fluid to a heat exchanger which contains a primary (i.e., working) fluid used for process heating or to power a heat engine employing either Stirling, Rankine, or Brayton thermodynamic cycles. The secondary fluid is boiled within the receiver by the trapped solar radiation and the released vapor rises along an elevated path to the heat exchanger. The vapor condenses on the surfaces of the heat exchanger, thereby transferring heat to the engine working fluid. The condensed liquid then flows by means of gravity back to the solar receiver. The walls of the cavity receiver are typically comprised of two concentric cylinders joined at one end in a half toroid and at the other end in concentric half spheres. Optimum primary and secondary fluids, which may be different from each other and are different for different applications, are described.