Concentrator photovoltaic panel, concentrator photovoltaic, and concentrator photovoltaic system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9634170-B2
Application number	US-201214125277-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2012
Priority date	Jun 10, 2011
Publication date	Apr 25, 2017
Grant date	Apr 25, 2017

Abstract

A concentrator photovoltaic is formed by concentrator photovoltaic panels each having solar cells arranged on the back side of concentrating lenses. A plurality of portions of an image are imaged at the periphery of each of the solar cells in each of the panels. When each of the panels tracks the sun to be swung in the right-left direction and in the up-down direction, an image which can be identified through the concentrating lenses by a person who sees the image from a position in front of the concentrator photovoltaic is different according to an angle at which the panel is swung (direction rotation angle and elevation angle) due to the characteristic of the concentrating lenses. Therefore, the image of a letter or the like which appears with movement of the sun can be changed, and a message or the like according to time thereof can be displayed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A concentrator photovoltaic panel in which a plurality of basic power generation structures are arrayed and integrated, each of the basic power generation structures comprising:
a substrate at a bottom side;
a solar cell provided on the substrate to convert light to electricity;
a concentrating lens at a top side arranged above the solar cell to converge sunlight onto the solar cell;
a protective cover arranged above the substrate to serve as the protective cover for a surface of the substrate except a light-receiving-surface of the solar cell from sunlight, the protective cover having a through hole for passing sunlight being converged by the concentrating lens; and
a colored member arranged on a top face of the protective cover and around the through hole as a pixel visible through the concentrating lens from an outside of the panel by reflecting a scattering sunlight, that irradiates the colored member on the protective cover, the colored members of all the basic power generation structures forming an image on an entire panel,
wherein the protective cover is arranged between the colored member and the solar cell,
wherein the entire color member is on the protective cover.

2. The concentrator photovoltaic panel according to claim 1 , wherein the surface of the colored member can be subjected to equal division in each of the basic power generation structures, coloring is provided to each of divided regions, and an image is different on the entire panel according to a direction in which the panel is seen.

3. The concentrator photovoltaic panel according to claim 1 , wherein:
the colored members of each of the basic power generation structures have an individual color pattern arranged on the protective cover with centering the through hole, and
a visible portion of the colored members from an outside of the panel through the lens is a static pixel varying in dependence upon a direction to view the panel to thereby form an image on the entire panel variable in dependence upon the direction to view the panel.

4. The concentrator photovoltaic panel according to claim 1 , wherein a light emitting device is arranged as the colored member.

5. The concentrator photovoltaic panel according to claim 4 , wherein a reflecting member is arranged around the light emitting device on the protective cover.

6. The concentrator photovoltaic panel according to claim 1 , wherein the solar cell includes a compound semiconductor.

7. A concentrator photovoltaic comprising:
a plurality of the concentrator photovoltaic panels each according to claim 1 ; and
a supporting portion on which the panels are aligned,
wherein each of the panels forms a partial image, and all the panels form a whole image.

8. The concentrator photovoltaic according to claim 7 , wherein:
the supporting portion includes a sun tracking meter, and
each of the panels is driven so that a light receiving surface of the panel is opposite to a position of the sun.

9. A concentrator photovoltaic system comprising a plurality of concentrator photovoltaics each identical to the concentrator photovoltaic according to claim 7 , wherein
all the concentrator photovoltaics form one image.

Assignees

• Iwasaki Takashi
• Koganeya Masanobu
• Sumitomo Electric Industries

Inventors

• Iwasaki Takashi
• Koganeya Masanobu

Classifications

• Y02E10/52

  PV systems with concentrators · CPC title

• H02S20/32

  specially adapted for solar tracking · CPC title

• F24S23/30

  with lenses · CPC title

• F24J2/08

  Mechanical Engineering · mapped topic

• Y02E10/40

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