Light concentration and energy conversion system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9482871-B2
Application number	US-201113221113-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 30, 2011
Priority date	Aug 30, 2011
Publication date	Nov 1, 2016
Grant date	Nov 1, 2016

Abstract

An optical system for light energy concentration may comprise a light concentrator including two or more light-converging elements, a light splitting element to receive the converging light from the light-converging elements and to produce light having a first spectral component and light having a second spectral component, and a light directing element to direct the light having the first spectral component through a light guide and to direct the light having the second spectral component to a location external to the light guide.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a light concentrator to convert incident light to converging light, wherein the light concentrator comprises at least a first light-converging element to focus the converging light in a first direction and a second light-converging element to focus the converging light in a second direction, the second direction making a converging angle with the first direction; the light-converging elements being eccentric type optical elements each of which having asymmetrical thickness distribution;
a light splitting element to receive the converging light from the first and second light-converging elements and to split the converging light into a first spectral portion of light and a second spectral portion of light; and
a light directing element including at least a first curved surface and a second curved surface to direct the first spectral portion of light through a light guide and to direct the second spectral portion of light to a receiver external to the light guide,
wherein the receiver is spaced from the light guide,
wherein the light guide is positioned between the receiver and the light concentrator,
wherein the first and second curved surfaces are arranged relative the first light-converging element and the second light converging element, respectively, such that the second spectral portion of light from the first curved surface directed to the receiver and the second spectral portion of light from the second curved surface directed to the receiver are collimated, and further wherein a light path of the second spectral portion of light between the light splitting element and the receiver passes through a space separating the receiver and the light guide.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a first energy conversion element to receive the first spectral portion of light and a second energy conversion element to receive the second spectral portion of light, the second energy conversion element comprising the receiver external to the light guide.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the light directing element comprises a refractive lens.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the light directing element comprises a reflecting surface to direct the first spectral portion of light through the light guide and the second spectral portion of light to the receiver external to the light guide.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a single optical element comprises the light splitting element and the light directing element.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the first and second curved surfaces of the single optical element comprise at least one curved convex or concave surface to facilitate splitting the converging light into the first spectral portion of light and the second spectral portion of light and directing the first spectral portion of light into the light guide.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the light splitting element and the light guide comprise a single optical element.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the light splitting element, the light directing element, and the light guide comprise a single optical element.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the light splitting element comprises an optically coated end-face of the light guide.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the light directing element is located external to the light guide.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the light guide comprises a rod-type light guide.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first light-converging element has a first surface curvature to focus the converging light to a first focus point, and the second light-converging element has a second surface curvature to focus the converging light to a second focus point, and wherein the first and second curved surfaces of the light directing element are located substantially near respective the first and second focus points.

13. An apparatus comprising:
a light concentrator including:
a first light-converging element having a first surface curvature to convert incident light to a first beam of converging light, and
a second light-converging element having a second surface curvature to convert the incident light to a second beam of converging light, the second surface curvature being off-axis relative to the first surface curvature such that the second beam is directed at an angle relative to the first beam, the light-converging elements being eccentric type optical elements each of which having asymmetrical thickness distribution; and

a splitting and directing element including:
a first curved surface to receive the first beam of converging light and to split the first beam of light into a first beam first spectral component and a first beam second spectral component,
a second curved surface to receive the second beam of converging light and to split the second beam of light into a second beam first spectral component and a second beam second spectral component, and
a light guide integrally coupled with the first and second curved surfaces, to direct the first beam first spectral component and the second beam first spectral component to a first energy conversion element, and to direct the first beam second spectral component and the second beam second spectral component to a second energy conversion element external to the light guide,
wherein the second energy conversion element is spaced from the light guide,
wherein the light guide is positioned between the second energy conversion element and the light concentrator,
wherein the first and second curved surfaces are arranged relative the first light-converging element and the second light-converging element, respectively, such that the first beam second spectral component and the second beam second spectral component are collimated, and further wherein a light path of the first beam second spectral component and the second beam second spectral component between the splitting and directing element to the second energy conversion element external to the light guide passes through a space separating the second energy conversion element and the light guide.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the splitting and directing element has an end surface angled with respect to the optical axis of the light guide, and wherein the first and second curved surfaces are optically coupled with the end surface such that substantially all the light received by the first and second curved surfaces from the respective first and second beams of converging light travel along an inside of the light guide.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the splitting and directing element has an end surface angled with respect to the optical axis of the light guide, and wherein the first and second curved surfaces are optically coupled with the end surface such that light from the first beam first spectral component and the second beam first spectral component travel along an inside of the light guide to the first energy conversion element, and light from the first beam second spectral component and the second beam second spectral component travel to the second energy conversion element.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein a propagation direction of the first beam first spectral component and the second beam first spectral component is substantially along an optical axis of the light guide.

17. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a propagation direction of the first spectral portion of light is substantially along an optical axis of the light guide.

18. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first and second

Assignees

• Lam Sio Kuan
• Pan Tao
• Zhou Wei
• Hong Kong Applied Science And Tech Res Inst Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lam Sio Kuan
• Pan Tao
• Zhou Wei

Classifications

• H01L31/0543

  Electricity · mapped topic

• Y02E10/40

  Solar thermal energy, e.g. solar towers · CPC title

• G02B19/0028

  refractive and reflective surfaces, e.g. non-imaging catadioptric systems · CPC title

• H01L31/0547

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G02B27/14 Primary

  operating by reflection only · CPC title