Patents
US 8013238 B2: Micro concentrators elastically coupled with spherical photovoltaic cells
- Granted
- 2011-09-06
- Filed
- 2007-07-09 application 11825681
- Type
- Utility · 80 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
With small dimensional optics, small photovoltaic cells have heat distribution surfaces, very high concentrations and subsequently high utilization of the semiconductors can be achieved. Discrete photodiodes can be formed as spherical and other geometric shaped, cells with high performance characteristics, precision dimensions, and low cost. This invention positions discrete photovoltaic cells by using their geometric shape, elastic electrical mounts, couples them to small optical concentrator systems of refractory and or reflective optics and makes electrical network connections to those photodiodes, reliably, adjusting for thermal expansion, and at low cost to form low cost and reliable electrical power arrays. The electrical connectors and network can form part of the reflective optics and heat removal system. The electrical interconnection system can also form a reliable network that is self-correcting and tolerant of point failures.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg110906.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Related Devices, Inc. 4 patents | US company or organization | Los Alamos, NM | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Kyosemi Corporation 9 patents | Foreign company or organization | Kyoto, JP | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert G. Hockaday | Los Alamos, NM | 13 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| H10F | Inorganic semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation | H10F77/147 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| Y02E | Reduction of greenhouse gas [ghg] emissions, related to energy generation, transmission or distribution | Y02E10/52 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-06-25 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | KYOSEMI CORPORATION signed 2014-06-23 | SPHERLAR POWER CORPORATION KYOTO | 33175/165 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2007-09-17 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | ENERGY RELATED DEVICES, INC. signed 2007-09-07 | ENERGY RELATED DEVICES, INC. LOS ALAMOS, NM KYOSEMI CORPORATION KYOTO-SHI KYOTO 612-8201 | 19835/738 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2007-07-09 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | HOCKADAY, ROBERT G. signed 2007-07-06 | ENERGY RELATED DEVICES, INC. LOS ALAMOS, NM | 19591/554 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.