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Date Announced: 09 Aug 2011
New IP covers total internal reflection light-guide technology for concentrating solar systems
TORONTO, August 9, 2011 – The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Morgan Solar (MSI) a second patent for its Sun Simba technology, without objections or revisions to the filed claims. The patent, US 7,991,261, is a continuation of MSI’s granted U.S. patent 7,873,257, ‘Light-guide Solar Panel and Method of Fabrication Thereof’, both which claim priority to May 1, 2007.
Issuance of the two patents solidifies MSI’s corporate position as the first-to-file for patents covering both the theory behind a Total Internal Reflection (TIR)-based light-guide concentrator with a slab focusing optic, and the feasible and efficient fabrication of solar optics and modules based on this technology.
US Patent ‘261 covers several generations of solar concentrators based on MSI’s Light-guide Solar Optic, as well as future MSI products. Both patents cover the invention of a solar energy system that traps light inside a dielectric or other transparent panel and propagates the light for harvesting by a solar energy collector, such as a photovoltaic cell. This allows for very thin modules whose thickness is comparable to the height of the solar energy collector, and eliminates the depth requirements inherent in traditional concentrated photovoltaic solar energy systems.
Other companies filed for patents after Morgan Solar along the same general concepts as those contained in US Patent ‘257 and ‘261. These subsequent-filed applications are testimony that the visionary and revolutionary concepts shown in MSI patents represent the next technology level in solar energy concentrators.
“Unlike patents that disclose concepts that can't be turned into a successful product or have claims disconnected from the technology they should cover, Morgan Solar’s patents disclose a highly innovative yet practical and grounded technology. The claims of the two patents ensure a strong and valid protection against copycats or design-around attempts,” said George Olaru, MSI’s Director of Innovation.
Morgan Solar has raised $28.2 million in private investments and $10.3 million in a mix of Canadian and U.S. government grants, loans, and tax credits. The company is currently manufacturing modules for test and demonstration sites in Ontario and California in partnership with its strategic investor Nypro Inc., the world’s largest non-automotive injection molder, with operations in 17 countries.
MSI has 17 other pending independent patent applications and corresponding international patent applications.
Source: Morgan Solar
E-mail: via web site
Web Site: www.morgansolar.com
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