Patents Examined by Jayne L Mershon
  • Patent number: 11296647
    Abstract: Solar array (1) comprising solar modules (3) distributed in rows (10), each solar module comprising solar collector (5) carried by a single-axis solar tracker (4), a reference solar power plant (2) comprising a central reference solar module and at least one secondary reference solar module, and a piloting unit (7) adapted for: piloting the angular orientation of the central reference module according to a central reference orientation setpoint corresponding to an initial orientation setpoint, piloting the orientation of each secondary reference module according to a secondary reference orientation setpoint corresponding to the initial orientation setpoint shifted by a predefined offset angle; receiving an energy production value from each reference module; piloting the orientation of the modules, except for the reference modules, by applying the reference orientation setpoint associated to the reference module having the highest production value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: NEXTRACKER INC.
    Inventors: Madyan Michotte De Welle, Jérôme Arliaud
  • Patent number: 11296649
    Abstract: Several pre-assemblies holding panels of photovoltaic cells are constructed and pre-wired in a factory. The pre-assemblies are shipped to a solar farm, where they are lifted above posts secured to the ground. By being foldable, the solar panel assemblies can provide a compact shipping arrangement. Operators can connect the solar panel assemblies to a support and then unfolded the solar panel assemblies and lock them in the unfolded position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Inventors: Travis James Miller, Farzad Azizi, Julio C Garza
  • Patent number: 11287328
    Abstract: A thermocouple (TC) protection gauge may guard TCs from flying debris and fragments in an explosive environment or demanding commercial environments. The gauge may contain multiple co-located TCs. By using the protection gauge, the survivability of the TCs is significantly increased and allows for a longer time frame of data collection. Temperature data is acquired from multiple TCs that are experiencing approximately the same gas temperature and gas velocity. The temperature data may be used to reconstruct the real gas temperature of a dynamic event. Each of the TCs has a different diameter and therefore has a different time resolved temperature trace. The individual temperature traces may be used to extrapolate the real gas temperature using, for example, a reconstruction algorithm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by The Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Michael Soo, John-Mark Clemenson, Jr., Michael S. Kessler, Adam W. Sims, Sam Goroshin
  • Patent number: 11290054
    Abstract: Disclosed are a floating photovoltaic panel installation structure and a buoyancy body for the installation of the floating photovoltaic panel, which may have excellent strength and buoyancy performance even while having light-weight characteristics, and stably support a photovoltaic panel on the water even during the flowing of a water surface due to waves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: SEMI LED CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hyo Lee, Young Choul Park, Noh Joon Park, Kang Hwa Lee
  • Patent number: 11282973
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a semiconductor device comprising a semiconducting material, wherein the semiconducting material comprises a halometallate compound comprising: (a) cesium; (b) palladium; and (c) one or more halide anions [X]. The invention also relates to a layer comprising the semiconducting material. The invention further relates to a process for producing a halometallate compound of formula (IV): [A]2[MIV][X]6, which process uses a H[X] and a compound comprising a sulfoxide group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: OXFORD UNIVERSITY INNOVATION LIMITED
    Inventors: Nobuya Sakai, Amir Abbas Haghighirad, Henry James Snaith
  • Patent number: 11276856
    Abstract: A positive electrode active material for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries includes: secondary particles composed of aggregated primary particles of a lithium composite oxide containing Ni: a rare earth compound attached to the surfaces of the secondary particles; a tungsten compound attached to the surfaces of the secondary particles: and lithium carbonate attached to the surfaces of the primary particles inside the secondary particles. The rate of Ni in the lithium composite oxide containing Ni with respect to the total number of moles of metal elements other than lithium in the lithium composite oxide containing Ni is 80 percent by mole or more, and the content of the lithium carbonate with respect to the total mass of the lithium composite oxide containing Ni is 0.3 percent by mass or more.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Akihiro Kawakita, Takeshi Ogasawara
  • Patent number: 11274217
    Abstract: A coating liquid includes aluminum phosphate, a nonionic surfactant, and water and/or water-soluble solvent that dissolves or disperses the aluminum phosphate and the nonionic surfactant. An amount of the nonionic surfactant is preferably 1 vol % or more and 10 vol % or less. The nonionic surfactant is preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of ester, ether, alkylglycoside, octylphenol ethoxylate, pyrrolidone, and polyhydric alcohol. Applying such a coating liquid to a surface of a thermoelectric member, and drying and firing the coating liquid enables formation of a dense antioxidant film containing aluminum phosphate on the surface of the thermoelectric member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOYOTA CHUO KENKYUSHO
    Inventors: Masato Matsubara, Yumi Saiki, Ryoji Asahi
  • Patent number: 11271237
    Abstract: The present invention provides a redox flow battery comprising a negative electrode (also referred to herein as an “anode”) immersed in a first liquid electrolyte (also referred to herein as a “negative electrolyte” or “anolyte”), a positive electrode (also referred to herein as a “cathode”) immersed in a second liquid electrolyte (also referred to herein as a “positive electrolyte” or “catholyte”), and a cation-permeable separator (e.g., a membrane or other cation-permeable material) partitioning the negative electrode/anolyte from the positive electrode/catholyte. The redox reactant of the catholyte comprises a compound of Formula (I) as described herein.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: UCHICAGO ARGONNE, LLC
    Inventors: Lu Zhang, Jingjing Zhang, Ilya A. Shkrob
  • Patent number: 11271180
    Abstract: Visually undistorted thin film electronic devices are provided. In one embodiment, a method for producing a thin-film electronic device comprises: opening a scribe in a stack of thin film material layers deposited on a substrate to define an active region and an inactive region of the thin-film electronic device, the stack comprising at least one active semiconductor layer. The active region comprises a non-scribed area of the stack and the inactive region comprises a region of the stack where thin film material was removed by the scribe. The method further comprises depositing at least one scribe fill material into a gap opened by the scribe. The scribe fill material has embedded therein one or more coloring elements that alter an optical characteristics spectrum of the inactive region to obtain an optical characteristics spectrum of the active region within a minimum perceptible difference for an industry defined standard observer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignees: Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, SolarWindow Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Scott R. Hammond, Marinus Franciscus Antonius Maria van Hest, John A. Conklin
  • Patent number: 11271127
    Abstract: An optical shield for a photovoltaic cell is provided, comprising an at least one carrier element, the carrier element comprises a number of embedded optically functional cavities arranged into an at least one predetermined optical relief pattern, wherein each embedded optically functional cavity in the at least one carrier element is positioned and aligned over an individual surface structure, such as an electrode, a contact, a finger, or a busbar, provided on the surface of the photovoltaic cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: OY ICS INTELLIGENT CONTROL SYSTEMS LTD
    Inventors: Kari Rinko, Tero Tuohioja
  • Patent number: 11271120
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a solar cell, including the steps of: forming unevenness on both of main surfaces of a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type; forming a base layer on a first main surface of the semiconductor substrate; forming a diffusion mask on the base layer; removing the diffusion mask in a pattern; forming an emitter layer on the portion of the first main surface where the diffusion mask have been removed; removing the remaining diffusion mask; forming a dielectric film on the first main surface; forming a base electrode on the base layer; and forming an emitter electrode on the emitter layer. This provides a method for manufacturing a solar cell that can bring high photoelectric conversion efficiency while decreasing the number of steps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: SHIN-ETSU CHEMICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takenori Watabe, Ryo Mitta, Hiroshi Hashigami, Hiroyuki Ohtsuka
  • Patent number: 11264941
    Abstract: A system for mounting one or more solar panels is provided. One version of the system includes a post, a central portion interconnected to the post, and a solar panel support member arranged to slidably receive an edge of a solar panel and including a female portion adapted to receive the at least one male portion of the elongated member, the solar panel support member adapted for pivotal movement about the longitudinal axis of the elongated member to provide a corresponding pivotal movement of the solar panel mounted thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: Systems Pty Ltd.
    Inventor: Glenn Carless
  • Patent number: 11258400
    Abstract: A solar panel mounting system including a rail and a clip. When a first notch of the rail receives a portion of a rib of the rail, the clip is positioned on the rail to receive an end of a first solar panel having a first thickness, and when a second notch of the rail receives the portion of the rib, the clip is positioned on the rail to receive an end of a second solar panel having a second thickness different than the first thickness of the first solar panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Unirac Inc.
    Inventors: Sai Uppu, Todd Ganshaw
  • Patent number: 11258068
    Abstract: A positive electrode for a lithium battery includes a lithium salt, a carbonaceous material, and a coating on a surface of the carbonaceous material, the coating including a polymer electrolyte including a hydrophilic material and a hydrophobic material, wherein a portion of the polymer electrolyte is anchored to the surface of the carbonaceous material by a chemical bond.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hyunpyo Lee, Taeyoung Kim, Dongjoon Lee, Heungchan Lee, Dongmin Im, Wonsung Choi
  • Patent number: 11257604
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a nuclear thermionic avalanche cell (NTAC) systems and related methods of generating energy comprising a radioisotope core, a plurality of thin-layered radioisotope sources configured to emit high energy beta particles and high energy photons, and a plurality of NTAC layers integrated with the radioisotope core and the radioisotope sources, wherein the plurality of NTAC layers are configured to receive the beta particles and the photons from the radioisotope core and sources, and by the received beta particles and photons, free up electrons in an avalanche process from deep and intra bands of an atom to output a high density avalanche cell thermal energy through a photo-ionic or thermionic process of the freed up electrons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AS REPRESENTED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR OF NASA
    Inventors: Sang H. Choi, Dennis M. Bushnell, David R. Komar, Robert C. Hendricks
  • Patent number: 11251319
    Abstract: A method for fabricating a solar cell, includes forming an emitter layer by doping a first impurity having a second conductivity type, opposite a first conductivity type, on a front surface of a substrate having the first conductivity type; forming a back surface field by doping a second impurity having the first conductivity type on a rear surface of the substrate; and forming a plurality of front finger lines in contact with the emitter layer and a plurality of rear finger lines in contact with the back surface field, wherein the emitter layer has a selective emitter structure, the back surface field has a selective back surface field structure, and the number of the plurality of rear finger lines positioned on the rear surface of the substrate is different from the number of the plurality of front finger lines positioned on a front surface of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
    Inventors: Yoonsil Jin, Youngho Choe
  • Patent number: 11251386
    Abstract: A highly efficient multi junction photovoltaic device, such as a two, three, or four junction device, is disclosed. The multi-junction device may include a first subcell comprising a first photoactive region and a second subcell comprising a second photoactive region. The first and second photoactive regions are designed to minimize spectral overlap and maximize photocurrent across a broad absorption spectra, such as wavelengths ranging from 400 nm to 900 nm. The device may further include an inter-connecting layer, disposed between the first subcell and the second subcell, that is at least substantially transparent. By introducing a transparent interconnecting layer, a dual element (tandem) cell achieves a power conversion efficiency of 10.0±0.5%. By adding an additional (3rd) sub-cell that absorbs at the second order optical interference maximum within the stack. The triple junction cell significantly improves the quantum efficiency at shorter wavelengths, achieving a power conversion efficiency of 11.1±0.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Xiaozhou Che, Xin Xiao, Stephen R. Forrest
  • Patent number: 11248123
    Abstract: The present invention concerns an organic dye comprising a photochromic entity, a segment -eD representing an electron donor segment and a segment -L-A with -L- representing a covalent bond or a spacer segment and particularly a pi-conjugated spacer segment, and -A representing an electron attractor segment able to form a covalent bond with a semi-conductor. The present invention concerns the use thereof as photosensitizer in a photovoltaic device and said photovoltaic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
    Inventors: Damien Joly, Yann Kervella, Renaud Demadrille
  • Patent number: 11245046
    Abstract: The present application discloses a multi-junction tandem laser photovoltaic cell, comprising a photovoltaic cell stack and a bottom electrode and a top electrode electrically connected to a bottom and a top of the photovoltaic cell stack, respectively, wherein the photovoltaic cell stack comprises stacked N AlGaAs PN-junction sub-cells, and adjacent sub-cells are connected in series via a tunneling junction, in which N?2. The AlGaAs PN-junction sub-cells use an AlGaAs absorbing layer. The present application further discloses a method of making the multi-junction tandem laser photovoltaic cell. The present application uses AlGaAs as the absorbing layer of the multi-junction tandem cell to convert laser energy, which can effectively increase the open circuit voltage of the photovoltaic cell, thereby significantly improving the conversion efficiency of the photovoltaic cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    Inventors: Jianrong Dong, Yongming Zhao, Yurun Sun, Jie Huang, Shuzhen Yu
  • Patent number: 11245356
    Abstract: The invention provides a waterproof connection structure of a solar power generation device comprising a plurality of bearing units, a plurality of power generation units, a plurality of water blocking units, and a plurality of second fixing units. The bearing units respectively include two first grooves, a second groove positioned between the first grooves, and two bearing surfaces between the first grooves and the second groove. The power generation units respectively include a first fixing unit for accommodating a solar panel element, and each of the first fixing units is provided with a connection surface at a side facing to the bearing surfaces. The water blocking units are arranged between the connection surfaces and the corresponding bearing surfaces. The second fixing units are assembled on the second grooves. First containers for accommodating the water blocking units are respectively provided at the bearing surfaces corresponding to the connection surfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: XIANGZHENG ENERGY TECHNOLOGY RANCH CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Lien-Feng Hsueh