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US 4,111,189 AGranted
Combined solar radiation collector and thermal energy storage device
AssigneeCities Service Company
InventorEdwin S. Dizon
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A solar energy device for collecting solar radiation, converting the radiation to thermal energy and storing the thermal energy, and a process for manufacturing of same.
Claims30
A solar radiation collection and thermal energy storage device comprising a housing reservoir;
- a phase change matrix disposed in said housing reservoir, said phase change matrix comprising a polymeric material and a particulate phase change material, said phase change material being immiscible in said polymeric material, and being discretely dispersed in said polymeric material, said polymeric material being selected from a group consisting of polymeric polysulfide, polymeric silicone rubber, and polymeric butyl rubber, said phase change material is selected from a group consisting of polyethylene glycol, said polyethylene glycol having a molecular weight of from about 4500 to about 20,000, pentacasone, trituacontane, camphene, myristic acid, methyl oxalate, stearic acid, and tristearin, and said matrix includes a curing agent comprising from about 1 wt% to about 10 wt% of said matrix, and a heat exchange means being disposed in said matrix for moving a heat absorbing medium therethrough, said heat exchange means being in communication with the outside of said reservoir.
A process for the manufacture of a matrix to be utilized in solar radiation collection and thermal energy storage comprising:
- (a) pulverizing a phase change material into a finely particulate state, said phase change material is selected from a group consisting of polyethylene glycol, said polyethylene glycol having a molecular weight of from about 4500 to about 20,000, pentacasone, trituacotane, camphene, myristic acid, methyl oxalate, stearic acid, and tristerin;
- (b) mixing said particulate phase change material with a polymeric material to form a phase change matrix, said polymeric material is a curable liquid and selected from a group consisting of polymeric polysulfide, polymeric silicone rubber, and polymeric butyl rubber;
- and
- (c) simultaneously maintaining the temperature of mixing below the melting point of the phase change material, wherein the particulate phase change material is discretely dispersed in said polymeric material and thereby prevented from liquifying and coagulating.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.