Patents by Inventor Lawrence F Kinney

Lawrence F Kinney has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7639423
    Abstract: A direct beam solar lighting system for collecting and distributing sunlight into a room. The system includes a rotatable solar collector head to receive sunlight and to reflect the sunlight downward into a transition tube having a reflective interior surface. The light-concentrating transition tube reflects sunlight into a reflective light tube which directs the reflected sunlight through a plenum space into the room. The system includes a drive mechanism for rotating the rotatable solar collector, and a light fixture at end of the light tube to disburse said reflected sunlight onto a ceiling and a wall in the room. In an embodiment the system includes one or more homogenizing reflectors within the solar collector for collecting the sunlight and directing the sunlight more uniformly over the aperture of the transition tube. In an alternative embodiment, the solar collector includes a rotatable tiltable mirror for providing two-axis tracking.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2009
    Assignees: University of Central Florida, Research Foundation, Inc., Sunflower Corporation
    Inventors: Lawrence F Kinney, Jim Walsh, William Ross McCluney, Gerald L Cler, John Hutson