Batteries: thermoelectric and photoelectric inventions 05/07

20070119495 - Systems and methods for generating electricity using a thermoelectric generator and body of water: A system for producing electrical power a thermoelectric generator including a thermopile, a hot junction, and a cold junction. A high temperature source may be thermally coupled to the hot junction wherein the high temperature source includes heat from within the earth's surface. A low temperature source may be thermally... Agent: Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP

20070119497 - Photoelectromotive force apparatus and manufacturing method thereof: A photoelectromotive force apparatus according to the prevent invention includes a solar cell in which a p-type semiconductor layer and an n-type semiconductor layer are stacked as photoelectromotive force layers between a pair of electrodes that are disposed to oppose each other, wherein The pn-junction between the p-type semiconductor layer... Agent: Westerman, Hattori, Daniels & Adrian, LLP

20070119496 - Photovoltaic cell: A photovoltaic cell and devices using the photovoltaic cell are provided. In certain examples, the photovoltaic cell may include a first material disposed on a first electrode and effective to generate an exciton upon absorption of electromagnetic energy. In some examples, the photovoltaic cell may also include a second material... Agent: Lowrie, Lando & Anastasi

20070119498 - Electrode for solar cells, manufacturing method thereof and solar cell comprising the same: Disclosed herein is an electrode that includes a catalytic layer formed on a substrate coated with a conductive material, wherein the catalytic layer includes vertically aligned carbon nanotubes. A method of manufacturing the electrode and a solar cell comprising the electrode are also described. The electrode has increased surface roughness... Agent: Cantor Colburn, LLP

20070119499 - Solar cell: s

20070113880 - Thermal cycler for pcr: An instrument for performing highly accurate PCR employing an assembly, a heated cover and an internal computer. The assembly is made up of a sample block, a number of Peltier thermal electric devices and heat sink, clamped together. The sample block temperature is changed exclusively by the thermoelectric devices controlled... Agent: Kilyk & Bowersox, P.l.l.c.

20070113881 - Method of making solar cell with antireflective coating using combustion chemical vapor deposition (ccvd) and corresponding product: There is provided a coated article (e.g., solar cell) that includes an improved anti-reflection (AR) coating. This AR coating functions to reduce reflection of light from a glass substrate, thereby allowing more light within the solar spectrum to pass through the incident glass substrate. In certain example embodiments, the AR... Agent: Nixon & Vanderhye, PC

20070113882 - System and method for rechargeable power system for a cargo container monitoring and security system: A system and method for an integrated rechargeable power system for a container monitoring and security system is provided. The power system is affixed to a container and comprises an integrated photovoltaic area conforming to the container construction, a battery pack module, power conditioning circuitry or recharge unit, and a... Agent: Baker & Daniels LLP

20070113883 - Sunbeams concentration lenses, process and apparatus for solar photovoltaic generator using concept of superposition: The present invention provides a concentration method of sunbeams for a photovoltaic power generation and lens and apparatus used in the method. A method of concentrating sunbeams according to the present invention is characterized in that as a method of concentrating sunbeams on a concentration surface of a solar cell... Agent: Renner Otto Boisselle & Sklar, LLP

20070113884 - Monolithic bypass diode and photovoltaic cell with bypass diode formed in back of substrate: An apparatus and method for making a solar cell assembly. An apparatus in accordance with the present invention comprises a substrate, at least a first solar cell, coupled to a first side of the substrate, the first side of the substrate to be exposed to light such that the at... Agent: Gates & Cooper LLP Howard Hughes Center

20070113886 - Photoelectric conversion device: A photoelectric conversion device provided with a photoelectric conversion layer between a first electrode and a second electrode is formed. The first electrode is partially in contact with the photoelectric conversion layer, and a cross-sectional shape of the first electrode in the contact portion is a taper shape. In this... Agent: Fish & Richardson P.C.

20070113885 - Photovoltaic cells with interconnects to external circuit: Photovoltaic cells with interconnects to an external circuit, as well as related components, systems, and methods, are disclosed.... Agent: Fish & Richardson PC

20070113887 - Material system of photovoltaic cell with micro-cavity: A photovoltaic cell with resonance cavity is provided. A first structure of reflection is attached toward one side of the resonance cavity and configured for reflecting light beams from the resonance cavity. The second structure of reflection is attached toward other side of the resonance cavity and configured for reflecting... Agent: Rosenberg, Klein & Lee

20070113888 - Method for treating powder particles: A method for treating powder particles of a Cu(In,Ga)Se2, compound, according to which the powder particles and a quantity of sulfur are introduced into a vessel and heated and maintained at a constant temperature over a period of time. The invention also relates to a monograin-membrane solar cell containing a... Agent: Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP

20070113889 - Composition for semiconductor electrode sintered at low temperature and dye-sensitized solar cell comprising the composition: Provided are a composition for a semiconductor electrode that can be sintered at a low temperature, a manufacturing method thereof, and a dye-sensitized solar cell using the composition. The composition for the semiconductor electrode comprises a colloid solution containing a nanocrystalline oxide material and an aqueous base solution. Even though... Agent: Ladas & Parry LLP

20070107764 - Silver-containing thermoelectric compounds: A thermoelectric material of the general formula Ag1-XMmM′Q2+m, wherein M is selected from the group consisting of Pb, Sn, Ca, Sr, Ba, divalent transition metals, and combinations thereof; M′ is selected from the group consisting of Bi, Sb, and combinations thereof; Q is selected from the group consisting of Se,... Agent: Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C

20070107766 - Multi-source ambient energy power supply for embedded devices or remote sensor or rfid networks: An ambient electromagnetic energy collector has a magnetic core of high permeability ferromagnetic material wrapped in an inductor coil for coupling primarily to a magnetic field component of a propagating transverse electromagnetic (TEM) wave. For coupling to electromagnetic waves of a wide range of frequencies and magnitudes, the collector is... Agent: Leighton K. Chong Patent Attorney

20070107765 - Optically powered drive circuit and method for controlling a semiconductor switch: An optically powered drive circuit and a method for controlling a first semiconductor switch are provided. The optically powered drive circuit includes a photovoltaic cell configured to receive a first light signal from a fiber optic cable and to output a first voltage in response to the first light signal.... Agent: General Electric Company Global Research

20070107767 - Dc power-generation system and integral control apparatus therefor: A DC power-generation array system (30) is made up of an array (32) of power-generation cells (36) arranged as N strings (38) of M cells (36) each. The system (30) incorporates an integral control apparatus (34) having N string units (52) and a single process unit (54). Each string unit... Agent: Meschkow & Gresham, P.L.C

20070107768 - Solar power system: A solar power system for providing electricity to a vehicle. The system includes a motor vehicle, having: a battery, a roof, a front window, and a hood; a rectangular roof solar panel module disposed on the roof and in electrical communication with the battery; and a rectangular windshield solar panel... Agent: Advantia Law Group

20070107769 - Apparatus for obtaining radiant energy: An apparatus for obtaining energy from a polychromatic radiant energy source has a light concentrator for concentrating and redirecting incident radiant energy, having an optical axis, and a spectral separator disposed along the optical axis, apart from the light concentrator and in the path of concentrated, redirected radiant energy. The... Agent: Corning Incorporated

20070107770 - Systems and methods for manufacturing photovoltaic devices: A solar energy system can include at least one holographic optical element to encode the focusing of solar radiation. Multiple holograms and/or multiple layers can be used to focus light over a band(s) of angles and/or wavelengths onto an array of solar cell elements. The selection of holograms in a... Agent: Townsend And Townsend And Crew, LLP

20070107771 - Apparatus and means of production of transparent nano-wire containing batteries, lights, cpus, solar collectors, and other components: Means and methods of producing flexible transparent nano-wire containing batteries, solar cells, lights, and CPUs are disclosed. The disclosed invention provides new means for solar energy collection, power storage, light generation, and portable computing in the form of nano-sized wire or tubes. The disclosed nanotubes and larger sizes of tubes... Agent: Steven A. Nielsen Allman & Nielsen, P.c

20070107772 - Via structures in solar cells with bypass diode: A solar cell including a semiconductor body with a multijunction solar cell and an integral bypass diode, and a pair of vias extending between the upper and lower surfaces, forming determined on the lower surface and electrically coupling the anode of the bypass diode with the conductive grid on the... Agent: Casey Toohey Emcore Corporation

20070107773 - Bifacial cell with extruded gridline metallization: Provided is a bifacial photovoltaic arrangement comprising a bifacial cell which included a semiconductor layer having a first surface and a second surface, a first passivation layer formed on the first surface of the semiconductor layer and a second passivation layer formed on the second surface of the semiconductor layer,... Agent: Mark S. Svat Fay, Sharpe, Fagan, Minnich Mckee, LLP

20070107774 - Bistable resistance value acquisition device, manufacturing method thereof, metal oxide thin film, and manufacturing method thereof: A ferroelectric layer (104) is sandwiched between a lower electrode layer (103) and an upper electrode (105). When a predetermined voltage (DC or pulse) is applied between the lower electrode layer (103) and the upper electrode (105) to change the resistance value of the ferroelectric layer (104) to switch a... Agent: Blakely Sokoloff Taylor & Zafman

20070107776 - Photovoltaic powered multimedia greeting cards and smart cards: A flexible photovoltaic cell integrated onto an active card, such as a greeting card or “smart” card, may be fabricated separately and then integrated with additional electronics on the active card. Alternatively, the photovoltaic cell may be fabricated on the active card itself, constituting, if desired, part or all of... Agent: Fish & Richardson PC

20070107775 - Solar cell and manufacturing method of the same: A solar cell includes a substrate, an electrode formed on the substrate, and a light absorption layer formed on the electrode. A contact area enlargement region is formed between the electrode and the light absorption layer. The solar cell is formed by forming an electrode with a contact area enlargement... Agent: Stein, Mcewen & Bui, LLP

20070102033 - Dynamic heat sink for light emitting diodes: Dynamic heat sink that uses a thermoelectric cooler, such as a Peltier Junction, to move the heat at a LED junction to the other side of the cooling chip. This would allow the LED to run with more current in a much smaller area than a passive metal heat sink... Agent: Stanley H. Kremen

20070102034 - Thermoelectric conversion device, and cooling method and power generation method using the same: A thermoelectric conversion device of the present invention includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a layered oxide arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode. The first electrode, the layered oxide, and the second electrode are arranged in this order so that a multilayer is formed. The... Agent: Mcdermott Will & Emery LLP

20070102035 - Method and structure for integrated solar cell lcd panel: The present invention relates to a method and device for integrating solar cell on LCD panels for photovoltaic electricity generation for portable electronic devices. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the black matrix region on the color filter substrate in a LCD panel is replaced by a solar... Agent: Townsend And Townsend And Crew, LLP

20070102036 - Mounting system for a solar panel: An integrated module frame and racking system for a solar panel is disclosed. The solar panel comprises a plurality of solar modules and a plurality of splices for coupling the plurality of solar modules together. The plurality of splices provide a way to make the connected modules mechanically rigid both... Agent: Sawyer Law Group LLP

20070102037 - Self-powered systems and methods using auxiliary solar cells: The present invention relates to technology for providing independent electrical power to a wide variety of electronic and/or mechanical systems, especially systems incorporating sensors and corresponding components that are used to take action based upon sensed information.... Agent: Kagan Binder, PLLC

20070102038 - Holding element for photovoltaic modules: The present invention relates to a method for establishing a sensor network having multiple sensor nodes, sensor nodes being able to connect to one another to transmit sensor data to a central receiving node, and information, in particular time information, being in stored in every sensor node from other neighboring... Agent: Chadbourne & Parke LLP

20070102039 - Electrolyte composition for dye-sensitized solar cell, manufacturing method of the composition, and dye-sensitized solar cell including the composition: Provided are an electrolyte composition of a dye-sensitized solar cell, a manufacturing method thereof, and a dye-sensitized solar cell comprising the composition. The composition comprises a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) based high polymer and titanium dioxide nanoparticles serving as an inorganic material based filler. Using the PVDF based high polymer in... Agent: Ladas & Parry LLP

20070102040 - Photovoltaic cells incorporating rigid substrates: The invention, in one aspect, provides a photovoltaic cell including a charge carrier material and a photosensitized interconnected nanoparticle material including nanoparticles linked by a polymeric linking agent, both disposed between first and second rigid, significantly light-transmitting substrates. In one embodiment, the charge carrier material and the photosensitized interconnected nanoparticle... Agent: Fish & Richardson PC

20070095378 - Thermoelectric transducer: A thermoelectric transducer includes a thermoelectric element module in which a plurality of pairs of P-type and N-type thermoelectric elements are arranged to be electrically connected in series. The thermoelectric element module includes a first terminal connected to an electric power input side of the thermoelectric elements, a second terminal... Agent: Harness, Dickey & Pierce, P.L.C

20070095379 - Thermoelectric generator: A thermoelectric power unit is provided. The power unit may include at least one thermoelectric device. A first fluid passage may be disposed on a first side of the thermoelectric device and may be configured to receive a hot exhaust stream. The power unit may further include a plurality of... Agent: Caterpillar/finnegan, Henderson, L.L.P.

20070095380 - Infrared detecting device with a circular membrane: An infrared (IR) sensor includes a semiconductor material, a circular membrane and a thermopile. The semiconductor material includes a cavity surrounded by a frame. The circular membrane is positioned over the cavity and has a perimeter supported by the frame. The membrane has a first surface for receiving thermal radiation... Agent: Delphi Technologies, Inc.

20070095381 - Stacked thermoelectric device for power generation: A thermoelectric device comprises a substrate comprising a thermal insulating region and a thermal conductive region, in which a dielectric layer is formed on the substrate of the thermal insulating region and a thermal insulating cavity formed between the substrate and the overlying-dielectric layer. A stack structure overlies the substrate... Agent: Birch Stewart Kolasch & Birch

20070095382 - High efficiency thermoelectric power generation using zintl-type materials: The invention disclosed herein relates to thermoelectrically-active p-type Zintl phase materials as well as devices utilizing such compounds. Such thermoelectric materials and devices may be used to convert thermal energy into electrical energy, or use electrical energy to produce heat or refrigeration. Embodiments of the invention relate to p-type thermoelectric... Agent: Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

20070095383 - Thermoelectric material, thermoelectric element, thermoelectric module and methods for manufacturing the same: T provide an N type thermoelectric material having figure of the merit improved to be comparable to or higher than that of P type thermoelectric material, the N type thermoelectric material of the present invention contains at least one kind of Bi and Sb and at least one kind of... Agent: Hogan & Hartson L.L.P.

20070095384 - Photovoltaic modules and interconnect methodology for fabricating the same: A solar cell array includes a series of photovoltaic cells having a front side and a back side. Each photovoltaic cell also includes front contacts and back contacts disposed on the front side and back side of each cell respectively, wherein the front contacts and the back contacts are accessible... Agent: Patrick S. Yoder Fletcher Yoder

20070095386 - Method and system for integrated solar cell using a plurality of photovoltaic regions: Method and system for integrated solar cell using a plurality of photovoltaic regions. According to an embodiment, the present invention provides a packaged solar cell assembly that is capable of stand-alone operation to generate power using the packaged solar cell assembly and/or with other solar cell assemblies. The packaged solar... Agent: Townsend And Townsend And Crew, LLP

20070095385 - Photovoltaic concentrating apparatus: The photovoltaic concentrating apparatus includes a supporter and at least one collecting unit positioned on the supporter. The supporter includes a plurality of beams having at least one groove positioned on a side surface of the beam. The collecting unit includes a Fresnel lens and a solar cell module. The... Agent: John S. Egbert Egbert Law Offices

20070095388 - Photovoltaic roof-top components, a photovoltaic irma roofing system, and a photovoltaic roofing system: An improved photovoltaic roofing system (10) includes a roofing membrane (12) overlying a top surface (14) of a roof deck (16), an insulation layer (18) above the roofing membrane (12) and a photovoltaic panel (20) above the insulation layer (18). The improved photovoltaic insulation layer (18) component defines a predetermined... Agent: Malcolm J. Chisholm, Jr. Attorney At Law

20070095387 - Solar cell module: The largest stress is created in the vicinity of the boundary between an edge of a bus bar electrode in a solar cell and a surface of a semiconductor substrate, and stress are easily concentrated. Accordingly, defects such as micro cracks occur in the semiconductor substrate, which develop into a... Agent: Hogan & Hartson L.L.P.

20070095390 - Solar cell and manufacturing method thereof: A solar cell includes an electrode and a porous film formed on the electrode and containing metallic oxide particles. The metallic oxide particles have a mean particle diameter of 5 nm-14 nm.... Agent: Stein, Mcewen & Bui, LLP

20070095391 - Tandem photovoltaic devices based on a novel block copolymer: A -donor(D)-bridge(B)-acceptor(A)-bridge(B)- or derivative type block copolymer system used in a tandem device of multiple sub-cells, where donor (D) is an organic conjugated donor (p-type) block, acceptor (A) is an organic conjugated acceptor (n-type) block, and bridge (B) is a non-conjugated and flexible chain, has been designed and preliminarily tested... Agent: Williams Mullen

20070095389 - Transparent electrode for solar cells, manufacturing method thereof, and semiconductor electrode comprising the same: Disclosed herein is a transparent electrode for solar cells, comprising a transparent electrode, a photocatalytic layer formed on the transparent electrode and comprising a photocatalytic compound, a metal mesh layer formed on the photocatalytic layer, and an electrically conductive layer formed of an electrically conductive material coated on the metal... Agent: Cantor Colburn, LLP