Directional solar heating assembly

Abstract

A solar heating assembly includes a fluid receiver movable between a thermally insulated compartment and a transparent enclosure for exposure to the rays of the sun. The transparent enclosure is adjacent the reflecting surface of a reflector for focusing the rays of the sun on the fluid receiver. An insulated door is pivotally connected to the thermally insulated compartment and is movable between a position permitting communication between the thermally insulated compartment and the transparent enclosure and a position thermally sealing the insulated compartment. The receiver engages the insulated door for pivoting the door open as the receiver moves from the insulated compartment to the transparent enclosure, and a cable guided by a series of pulleys connects the receiver to the door for closing the door as the receiver moves from the transparent enclosure to the insulated compartment. A thermally actuated detent member retains the receiver in the transparent enclosure unless the ambient temperature falls below a predetermined level. A tilting mechanism tilts the reflector about a horizontal axis to follow the rise and fall of the sun, and a turntable for rotating the receiver and reflector follows the travel of the sun across the sky and cooperates with the tilting mechanism in tilting the reflector. A season adjustment mechanism is associated with the tilting mechanism to provide different degrees of tilting for different seasons.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.