Multilevel vehicle roof supporting a deployable solar array
OwnerBenjamin David Freemaninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The device is a vehicle with a carefully designed multi-layered roof and with a solar array consisting of at least five solar panels mounted on various parts of that roof. When the vehicle is being driven none of the solar panels will extend beyond the outer perimeter of the vehicle. When the vehicle is parked, the driver will be able to cause the at least four solar panels to be repositioned in such a way that their total footprint is more than twice the total footprint of the vehicle. This vehicle will also feature an onboard computer that can help the driver do a variety of tasks that are not normally necessary for typical vehicles and which involve levels of information processing which a normal person would be better off allowing the onboard computer to accomplish.
Claims22
A vehicle with a multi-level roof for supporting a deployable solar array, comprising:
- a) A means of electrical storage;
- b) A means of electrical locomotion;
- c) An axis in the direction that the vehicle travels in a straight line;
- d) an upper roof surface;
- e) one or more lower roof surfaces;
- an overlap of the upper roof surface over a minimum of approximately 5 percent of the area of at least one of the lower roof surfaces;
- g) one or more solar panels covering a minimum of approximately 10 percent of the upper roof surface and one or more solar panels covering at least 10 percent of at least one of the one or more lower roof surfaces when the deployable solar array is in an un-deployed position;
- h) an overlap of solar panels wherein a minimum of approximately one square foot of at least one solar panel above the uppermost roof surface overlaps the footprint—of at least one solar panel below the uppermost roof surface when the array is undeployed and a roof between them the overlapping panels and wherein the panels, when deployed, expose a larger area towards the source of solar energy than the roof of the vehicle and wherein said larger area occupies a substantially rectangular shape which conforms to a parking space.
An obliquely deploying vertically-stacked panel array assembly for a bearing roof of a vehicle having electrical propulsion comprising
- sliding means adapted to convey at least two of said panels diagonally away from a center
- point said roof and resulting in a side-to-side deployed configuration meeting substantially above the centerline parallel to the vehicle's habitual travel direction;
- and wherein
- the panels, when deployed, expose a larger area towards the source of solar energy than the roof of the vehicle
- the deployed width of said panel assembly exceeds the roof width
- said larger area occupies a substantially rectangular shape which conforms to a parking space.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.