Solar energy conversion apparatus

An improved solar energy conversion apparatus for effectively converting solar radiation thermal energy, on a high-efficiency basis, into stored thermal energy contained in a captive working medium in a closed-cycle power conversion system, comprising:

• radiation-concentrating and line-focusing optical means operable to receive solar radiation as input energy in a relatively large area input region and in relatively diffuse form and to modify same into concentrated output radiation of an effectively high thermal energy density in a relatively smaller area concentrated heat transfer region of a line configuration whereby to have effectively greatly reduced the radiation area;
• heat transfer and energy conversion means positioned in said heat transfer region of line configuration and having an outer radiation reception surface adapted to be impinged by said area-reduced, effectively energy-density-concentrated output radiation from said radiation-concentrating optical means and having a thermally efficient radiation-to-heat conversion layer operable to convert a large portion of received concentrated infrared radiation into heat in a containment region on the inner side of said surface and in a working medium contained therein, said radiation reception surface being thermally conductively provided with and attached to a closed-cycle containment apparatus having an inner contact surface and having a working medium contained against said inner contact surface thereof, said closed-cycle containment apparatus comprising a number of series-connected hollow flow sections provided with intervening one-way check valve means therebetween allowing the passing of a progressively heated working medium through said valve means and the corresponding flow sections of said containment apparatus in one forward direction only;
• succeeding flow sections of said containment apparatus between succeeding sets of said one-way valve means being placed for individual reception of corresponding different quantities of line-focused solar radiation for incremental heating in a series manner of the working medium in successive flow sections of the containment apparatus whereby to incrementally increase the temperature and pressure of the working medium along the complete length of said containment apparatus until it reaches a desired high temperature and pressure at a thermal-energy-output-utilization end thereof adapted to be connected to some desired form of thermal energy utilization apparatus adapted to effectively reduce the temperature and pressure of the working medium as a consequence of the effective extraction of substantial quantities of energy from the working medium by such utilization apparatus;
• and a return flow line adapted to be connected from an output side of such a thermal energy utilization apparatus back to a low-thermal-energy input end of said containment apparatus.