Sunlight concentrator for energy conversion

Claim 2

Apparatus for solar thermal conversion comprising; a mast protruding from the ground; a ring-like structure encircling said mast; a plurality of mirrors mounted on said ring-like structure; a body to be heated mounted on said mast; a beam rotatably mounted on said mast; a tiltably controlled reflector mounted at the extremity of said beam; and control means Enabling the sunlight reflected from said mirrors to be directed by said reflector onto said body to be heated.

Claim 3

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said mast is vertical and has said body to be heated mounted at its upper end where most of the reflected light converges.

Claim 4

Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein said beam is mounted on said mast for controlled azimuth alignment with the plane containing both the sun and said mast and wherein said beam also has a horizontal hinge for controlled inclination from said mast so that said reflector receives most of the sunlight reflected from said mirrors.

Claim 5

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein most reflected light converges at some point between said body to be heated and said reflector.

Claim 6

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said body to be heated is a boiler which supplies steam to a means for generating electricity.

Claim 7

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said body to be heated has a selective surface which freely absorbs the low wavelength energy of sunlight but tends to retard the emission of radiant heat.

Claim 8

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said ring-like structure is a slender, prestressed ring capable of controlled inversion which causes the sunlight reflected from said mirrors to converge toward a point and which, when changed, causes the distance from the center of said mirrors to this point to change.

Claim 9

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein each of said mirrors has an attached sheave and, together with its sheave, is mounted on said ring-like structure for limited rotation about ring cross section centers so that cables with ends oppositely wound around the mast can respond to forced in-plane displacements of said ring-like structure by exerting tension differences on the sheave of each said mirror to cause changes in mirror tilt and overall focal point distance.

Claim 10

Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein control motors control the azimuth angle of said beam, the inclination of said beam, the tilt of said mirror and, to a limited extent, the focal length distance of said plurality of mirrors.

Claim 11

Apparatus in accordance with claim 9 wherein said mirrors and said reflector can be protected with dust covers in response to movements of control motors which control beam mirrior mirror and focal length change.

Claim 12

A solar heating apparatus comprising; a substantially vertical pole, a moveable ring encircling and in connection with said pole, a plurality of mirrors mounted on said ring and adapted to reflect sunlight, a beam connected to said pole, said beam adapted to be moved vertically and horizontally about said pole, a reflector connected to said beam, said reflector adapted to receive reflected sunlight from said mirrors, and a body associated with said pole, said body adapted to receive reflected sunlight from said reflector and to convert this sunlight into useable energy.

Claim 13

A solar heating apparatus comprising; a substantially vertical pole, a moveable ring encircling and in connection with said pole, a plurality of mirrors mounted on said ring and adapted to reflect sunlight, a beam connected to said pole, said beam adapted to be moved vertically and horizontally about said pole, a reflector connected to said beam, said reflector adapted to receive reflected sunlight from said mirrors, and a body associated with said pole, said body adapted to receive reflected sunlight from said reflector and to convert this sunlight into useable energy.