Value chain · CLM-1186
In plain terms
The patent describes an existing kind of solar collector whose layers step up like a staircase, with risers that can be panels that shed heat; it does not say its own helical design has such risers. In the helical design the rows are typically 14 millimetres apart, and the whole thing may be hundreds to thousands of metres across and tall, so it has many thousands of rows.
The claim as recorded
The concentrator patent describes, as a known type of collector and not as its own helix, stepped collectors whose PV layers are joined by "step" panels normal to them, which can radiate waste heat. For its helical collector it gives a row spacing "typically 14 mm" and a size of hundreds to thousands of metres. PDF 13: "A known third type of space-based solar collector breaks the contiguous photovoltaic surface into a stepped arrangement. Here, photovoltaic panels are arranged in different parallel planes interconnected by panels normal to the parallel planes. These "step" panels may be formed of a material that is able to radiate the waste heat." PDF 21: "In practice, for microwave power-beaming, row spacing may be smaller than the microwave wavelength, e.g. less than 100 mm, typically 14 mm. The overall diameter and height of the solar collector may be in the range of hundreds to thousands of metres, depending on the beaming distance and the particular wavelength of radiation used for power-beaming. Therefore, many thousands of rows may be used."
Evidence behind this: A patent application by the concept's inventor. The stepped collector is described as known art; the 14 mm is a typical value, not a design.
Scope and limits
THE RISERS ARE STATED FOR A KNOWN STEPPED COLLECTOR, NOT CLAIMED FOR THE HELIX. Whether CASSIOPeiA's layers have risers is not stated here; the SRC-590 and SRC-026 renders show open gaps with dipoles between the layers. 14 mm is "typically", with no frequency named; it matches the 2022 thesis's 14 mm minimum rise at 5.8 GHz (CLM-1182), but the patent does not say so. "Hundreds to thousands of metres" is a range with no variant attached. The twenty rows of Fig. 4 are "for drawing clarity".
What it assumes
That the "step" panels of PDF 13 apply to the helical collector. The page introduces them as a known type ("A known third type"). The helical collector is called "helically-stepped" on PDF 15 and PDF 17, but the patent does not say its risers are radiating panels.
Where it comes from
PDF 13 [2], raw: "A known third type of space-based solar collector breaks the contiguous photovoltaic surface into a stepped arrangement. Here, photovoltaic panels are arranged in different parallel planes interconnected by panels normal to the parallel planes. These "step" panels may be formed of a material that is able to radiate the waste heat. This method of collector requires a somewhat collimated and uniformly-concentrated beam in order that all layers receive similar illumination." PDF 21 [10], raw: "The helical solar collector 204 includes twenty rows of collector elements 216 in the form of solar cells." and "The depicted arrangement is for drawing clarity. In practice, for microwave power-beaming, row spacing may be smaller than the microwave wavelength, e.g. less than 100 mm, typically 14 mm. The overall diameter and height of the solar collector may be in the range of hundreds to thousands of metres, depending on the beaming distance and the particular wavelength of radiation used for power-beaming. Therefore, many thousands of rows may be used." PDF 22 [11], raw: "The solar collector comprises eight collector elements pointing upwards and eight collector elements pointing downwards." (Fig. 5, the non-helical stepped collector 304, drawn as a staircase in side view and a full circle from above.)
Basis: collector layer arrangement; row spacing in mm; collector size in metres
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-1186
CLM-1186, Energy Aperture, as of 2019.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-592
- CLM-1185The top-power version uses two pairs of curved mirrors, one pair at each end. Each pair doubles the sunlight and turns it sideways into the...CLM-1187The middle of the collector, a tenth of its area seen end-on, has no solar cells, so the mirrors have a hole in the middle rather than...