초록 ▼

A solar collector is described in which air passed through the collector is heated by exchanging heat with a plate which absorbs solar energy. The collector includes a lightweight frame of rectangular cross-section having an inlet and outlet for passage of air, with the top of the frame sealed by a

A solar collector is described in which air passed through the collector is heated by exchanging heat with a plate which absorbs solar energy. The collector includes a lightweight frame of rectangular cross-section having an inlet and outlet for passage of air, with the top of the frame sealed by a light-transmissive cover such as a sheet of glass. Also included in the collector are an absorber plate mounted in the frame below the cover, and a jet plate spaced a prescribed distance below the absorber plate. One or both of the plates is corrugated, and holes are provided in the jet plate at locations where the gap between plates is a minimum so that during operation of the collector, jets of air are directed through the holes and impinge on the lower surface of the absorber plate to produce efficient heat transfer, while channels defined by the corrugations facilitate flow of the spent jets to the collector outlet with minimal interruption of downstream jets. The disclosed collector provides cost effective solar energy collection since it achieves high air heating efficiencies, is inexpensive to construct, easy to handle and install, long-lived, and is readily adaptable to multi-stage assemblies.

대표청구항 ▼

A solar collector for heating air comprising: a rigid plastic frame of generally rectangular cross-section, said frame having an upstream endwall with an inlet for admitting air to be heated into the collector and a downstream endwall with an outlet for discharging heated air from the collector; a g

A solar collector for heating air comprising: a rigid plastic frame of generally rectangular cross-section, said frame having an upstream endwall with an inlet for admitting air to be heated into the collector and a downstream endwall with an outlet for discharging heated air from the collector; a glass cover sealably mounted in the top of said frame substantially parallel to the base thereof and adapted to transmit solar radiation into the collector; a metallic absorber plate adapted to absorb solar radiation transmitted through the cover, said plate spaced between said glass cover and said base and having corrugations forming channels extending from the upstream endwall to the downstream endwall; and a jet plate mounted between said absorber plate and said base parallel to said absorber plate and having a plurality of circular holes therethrough for directing jets of air upward to impinge against the absorber plate for efficient heating of air passing through the collector, the holes in said jet plate being present at locations of minimum gap between said jet plate and the corrugations of said absorber plate whereby the channels adjacent to the point of impingement of an air jet permit downstream passage of air subsequent to jet impingement with minimal interference to said jets.