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:
Feb. 01, 2011
Filed:
Nov. 09, 2007
Mario Rabinowitz, Redwood City, CA (US);
Mario Rabinowitz, Redwood City, CA (US);
Other;
Abstract
A novel latch for pivoted optical elements of a solar concentrator and other equipment latches them in position between orientation operations. The mirrors may be on a universal pivot that can rotate or tilt in any direction; or on gimbal pivots. The orientation power can be turned off between alignments with the mirrors remaining in alignment orientation during this off-power period. Turning off the alignment power between alignments, saves on both energy resources and on expensive apparatus. It permits a great reduction in power supply as the optical elements can be aligned sequentially. This not only reduces operating costs, but also capital investment because smaller power supplies can suffice. A preferred embodiment utilizes the freezing of a liquid material. Since this involves no moving parts for latching, the instant invention is ideally adapted for fabrication from the nano- to the mini-realm.