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US 4,289,113 AGranted
Evacuated flat-plate solar collectors
OwnerPeter G. Whittemoreinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A structural support system is disclosed for use in an evacuated, flat-plate, solar collector to eliminate the problem of stress fractures in a glass cover plate. Nonlinearly spaced supports are used within the collector to dampen vibrations in the glass cover and to prevent overdeflection before buckling or stress fractures occur.
Claims16
In a solar collector for the conversion of solar radiation to thermal energy, which solar collector comprises:
- (a) a peripheral frame member;
- (b) a lower sheet member;
- (c) a single, upper, thin, glass sheet member;
- (d) the frame member and lower and upper sheet members forming a shallow, sealed chamber adapted to be evacuated to a subatmospheric pressure or at a subatmospheric pressure;
- (e) a chamber absorber means containing a fluid, to permit the fluid to absorb solar radiation passing through the upper, thin, glass sheet member, and to convert the solar radiation to thermal energy in the fluid, to increase the temperature of the fluid;
- (f) means to introduce fluid, at one low temperature, into the absorber means and means to remove a higher temperature fluid from the absorber means;
- (g) means to support the upper, thin, glass sheet member, the improvement which comprises
- a plurality of spaced-apart, generally parallel, glass sheet support elements within the chamber, and extending substantially the length of the chamber and positioned in a symmetrical, but nonlinear, manner with respect to the longitudinal center line of the chamber, so that the distance between the longitudinal support elements decreases as the support elements extend outwardly in position toward the peripheral edge of the frame member, so that the support elements dampen the harmonic vibrations of the supported, upper thin, glass sheet element, prior to the occurrence of stress fractures in the glass sheet element, thereby preventing fracture of the glass sheet element, when the chamber is under subatmospheric pressure.
5 more elements
In a solar collector for the conversion of solar radiation to thermal energy, which solar collector comprises:
- (a) a peripheral, rectangular frame member;
- (b) a lower sheet member;
- (c) a single, upper, thin, glass sheet member having a thickness of 3/8ths of an inch or less;
- (d) the frame member and lower and upper sheet members forming a shallow, sealed chamber adapted to be evacuated to a subatmospheric pressure or at a subatmospheric pressure;
- (e) a chamber absorber means containing a fluid in the chamber, to permit the fluid to absorb solar radiation passing through the upper, thin, glass sheet member, and to convert the solar radiation to thermal energy in the fluid, to increase the temperature of the fluid;
- (f) means to introduce the fluid, at one low temperature, into the absorber means and means to remove a higher temperature fluid from the absorber means;
- and
- (g) means to support the upper, thin, glass sheet member, the means to support generally parallel to the sides of the frame element of larger dimension, the improvement which comprises
- a plurality of spaced-apart, generally parallel, glass sheet first support elements within the chamber, and extending substantially the length of the chamber and positioned in a symmetrical, but nonlinear, manner with respect to the longitudinal center line of the chamber, so that the distance between the longitudinal support elements decreases as the support elements extend outwardly in position toward the peripheral edge of the frame, and a plurality of second point support elements positioned in a generally arcuate form, so that the point supports nearer the longitudinal center line are positioned farther from the short-dimension side of the frame element than the point support elements near the corner of the frame element, the nonlinear and arcuate positions of the first and second support elements dampening the harmonic vibrations of the upper, thin, glass sheet element, prior to the occurrence of stress fractures in the glass sheet element, thereby preventing fracture of the glass sheet element, when the chamber is under subatmospheric pressure.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.