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US 4,548,196 AGranted
Solar collector comprising transparent hollow plastic microspheres as insulation material
OwnerLeonard B. Torobininventor
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OwnerLeonard B. Torobininventor
Estimating the term…
The hollow plastic microspheres 17 are made by forming a liquid film of thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic composition across a coaxial blowing nozzle 5, applying a blowing gas 10 at a positive pressure to the inner surface of the plastic film to blow the film and form an elongated cylinder shaped liquid film 12 of plastic. A transverse jet 13 is used to direct an entraining fluid 14 over and around the blowing nozzle 5, at an angle to the axis of the blowing nozzle. The entraining fluid 14 as it passes over and around the blowing nozzle 5 fluid dynamically induces a pulsating or fluctuating pressure field at the opposite or lee side of the blowing nozzle in the wake or shadow of the coaxial blowing nozzle. The continued movement of the entraining fluid 14 over the elongated cylinder 12 produces asymmetric fluid drag forces on the cylinder and closes and detaches the elongated cylinder from the coaxial blowing nozzle and the detached cylinder by the action of surface tension forms into a spherical shape 17. The hollow plastic microspheres can be made from low heat conductivity plastic compositions and blown with a low heat conductivity gas and used to make improved insulation materials and composites and insulating systems. The hollow plastic microspheres 17 can be made to contain a thin transparent or reflective metal coating 20 deposited on the inner wall surface of the microspheres.
A solar energy collector comprising an outer transparent cover and an inner cover, and having disposed there-between a black coated heat absorber and at least one heat exchange medium tube, wherein said outer cover consists of a transparent sheet comprising a mass of hollow plastic microspheres or a transparent panel comprising a mass of hollow plastic microspheres, wherein the microspheres in said sheet or panel are cemented together by fusion or sintering or bonded together with an organic or inorganic bonding agent or adhesive, said microspheres being of substantially uniform diameter of 500 to 6,000 microns and of substantially uniform wall thickness of 0.5 to 400 microns and said microspheres are free of latent solid or liquid blowing gas materials or gases and the walls of said microspheres are substantially free of holes, relatively thinned wall portions or sections and bubbles.
A solar energy collector comprising an outer transparent cover and an inner cover, and having disposed there-between a black coated heat absorber and at least one heat exchange medium tube, wherein said outer cover consists of a transparent sheet comprising a mass of hollow plastic microspheres or a transparent panel comprising a mass of hollow plastic microspheres, wherein the microspheres in said sheet or panel are cemented together by fusion or sintering or bonded together with an organic or inorganic bonding agent or adhesive, said microspheres being filamented microspheres having a diameter of 500 to 6,000 microns and having a wall thickness of 0.5 to 400 microns, said microspheres are free of latent solid or liquid blowing gas materials or gases and the walls of said microspheres are substantially free of holes, relatively thinned wall portions or sections and bubbles, and said microspheres are connected to each other by filament portions which are continuous with the microspheres and are of the same organic film forming material from which the microspheres are made.
A solar energy collector comprising an outer transparent cover and an inner cover, and having disposed there-between a black coated heat absorber and at least one heat exchange medium tube, wherein there is disposed between said outer cover and said black coated heat absorber a first mass of transparent hollow plastic microspheres, and there is disposed between said black coated heat absorber tubes and said inner cover a second mass of hollow plastic microspheres, said first and second masses of hollow plastic microspheres being of substantially uniform diameter of 500 to 6,000 microns and of substantially uniform wall thickness of 0.5 to 400 microns and said microspheres are free of latent solid or liquid blowing gas materials or gases and the walls of said microspheres are substantially free of holes, relatively thinned wall portions or sections and bubbles.
A solar energy collector comprising an outer transparent cover and an inner cover, and having disposed there-between a black coated heat absorber and at least one heat exchange medium tube, wherein there is disposed between said outer cover and said black coated heat absorber a first mass of transparent hollow plastic microspheres, and there is disposed between said black coated heat absorber tubes and said inner cover a second mass of hollow plastic microspheres, said first and second masses of hollow plastic microspheres being filamented microspheres having a diameter of 500 to 6,000 microns and having a wall thickness of 0.5 to 400 microns and said microspheres are connected to each other by filament portions which are continuous with the microspheres and are of the same organic film forming material from which the microspheres are made.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.