Solar pv generator with dish reflector and fly's eye receiver

A method for forming as a single piece a glass lens array with a multiplicity of contiguous individual convex lenses on one side and a smooth curve or flat on the other, comprising the steps of:

• preparing a mold having a first face with a multiplicity of sharp boundaries to form a first, quilted surface of the contiguous lenses of a lens array, and a second smoothly curved face;
• heating a glass preform the size of the array to softening;
• hot pressing said glass preform in said mold, with said second face lowermost, until imprinting said glass with the quilted surface is complete;
• removing said first face of the mold before cooling, the glass resting on said second, smoothly curved mold face;
• and
• rapidly cooling the glass and second mold face to freeze in the shape;
• wherein said lens array so formed has sharp boundaries of the quilted surface preserved, with minimal blurring effects from differential expansion between said glass and said mold face.

A method for forming a lens array from individual press-molded lenses, comprising the steps of:

• mounting a plurality of lenses individually on concentric hubs in an array;
• cutting said hub-mounted lenses accurately into the individual, differently-shaped segments of the array as needed to fit together with minimal gaps between;
• mounting said hubs with cut lenses still attached into an assembly jig, made so said hubs hold in position said lenses as required to accurately form the array;
• bonding said lenses to each other to form a single rigid fly's eye array;
• and
• removing said array from the hubs and jig;
• wherein said lens array so formed is operative to concentrate entering light into multiple foci with minimal geometric losses because the boundaries have been sharply defined.

A method for forming a fly's eye lens array, comprising the steps of:

• cutting individual press-molded lenses into individual, differently-shaped lens segments needed to form a fly's eye lens array with minimal gaps, the cut sides of said segments being provided with small locating notches cut into the middles of the sides, away from the convex aspheric sides of the lenses;
• and
• bonding said lens segments to a supporting structure made with square openings, each sized to match a lens segment, and with small tabs to engage with lens-locating notches to ensure correct lateral positioning of the lenses in the fly's eye lens array;
• wherein said lens array with said supporting structure attached is operative to concentrate entering light into multiple foci, with minimal geometric losses because the lens boundaries have been sharply defined, and because said square openings of said supporting structure are large enough to avoid blocking the light refracted by said lens segments toward multiple foci.

A dual axis, altitude-azimuth tracker to carry solar reflectors comprising:

• a rigid triangular azimuth spaceframe structure with wheels at each of three lower corner nodes riding on a circular ground track to support the tracker weight and drive it in rotation, and with a lower central node attached to a ground anchor so as to constrain lateral decentering motion and prevent wind lift;
• a rigid elevation structure hinged at two upper nodes of said azimuth structure and driven in elevation by a linear actuator from a third node of said azimuth structure;
• solar reflectors carried by said elevation structure;
• and wherein accurate orientation of the reflectors with respect to the sun is maintained independent of irregularities or levelling of said track, by driving said elevation actuator and one or more of said wheels, based on information from encoders and from some combination of solar and level sensors carried by said elevation structure, and calibration data.