Solar collector
AssigneeKingspan Holdings (IRL) Limited
InventorsPatrick Robert Davis, Boris Bauer, Richard Pelan, Paul Thomas McEntee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A solar collector includes a solar absorbing tube containing an elongate tube that extends out of one end of the solar absorbing tube and into an end fitting. An annular outer passageway of the elongate tube communicates with a cold fluid inlet conduit within the end fitting. An inner passageway of the elongate tube communicates with a hot water outlet conduit within the end fitting. Each end fitting 15 is provided with a receiving portion extending orthogonally to the tubular passage for receiving an end of the concentric elongated tube. The end fittings are interconnected to provide fluid flow paths without the need for a manifold. Any number of solar collector tubes can be interconnected in this way.
Claims26
A solar collector assembly comprising
- a plurality of elongate solar collector tubes, each tube having an end fitting at one end, each elongate solar collector tube including a solar radiation absorber and a heat exchanger for transferring heat from said solar radiation absorber to a fluid to be heated, said heat exchanger including a cold fluid conduit and a hot fluid conduit, each end fitting including a fluid passageway and each end fitting having a seal to sealingly engage a fluid passageway of an adjacent end fitting, the end fitting fluid passageway being divided by a longitudinally extending dividing wall into a cold fluid passageway and a hot fluid passageway, the dividing wall having an opening through which the hot fluid conduit of the solar collector tube extends for delivery of hot fluid from the solar collector tube into the hot fluid passageway, and the cold fluid passageway of the end fitting being in fluid communication with the cold fluid conduit of the solar collector tube and wherein on assembly of one end fitting to an adjacent end fitting the dividing walls of the end fittings are substantially contiguous.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.