Rotating Furling Catenary Solar Concentrator

Abstract

The present invention relates to a rotating solar concentrating device wherein reflective sheets hung in a catenary trough shape capable of solar concentration may be protectively furled and balanced and rotated about a vertical axis. The reflective sheets may be furled to protect them from damage from wind, rain, and dust. In some embodiments, rotating parts of the device may be hung from supports above. In some embodiments, a furling mechanism may initiate protective furling in response to damaging environmental factors. Some embodiments may concentrate light on a photovoltaic cell wherein the photovoltaic cell is cooled by immersion in a heat pipe. In some embodiments, reflective surfaces may be supported by cables that are tensioned by a hanging, rotating ballast. In some embodiments, the device may be employed in a ganged array. In some embodiments, the invention may harvest wind energy as a vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.