Patent Application
20150162473
Low cost improvements to photovoltaic (PV) cell efficiency are essential for growing the solar power market. The peak efficiency for high dollar crystalline silicon PV cells has now surpassed 40%, but the general consumer solar market may still produce cells with efficiencies ranging from 10% to 25% depending on technology and cost. The vast majority of the unutilized solar potential energy (75-90%) may be converted to heat in the solar cell and should be dissipated. This heat may result in shorter cell lifetimes and lower cell efficiencies. A wide review of silicon based solar cells shows that a 30° C. increase in operating temperature may reduce cell power output by about 14%. Similarly, a 50° C. increase in temperature (which may not be unreasonable without thermal management) may reduce cell power output by about 23%. Overall, each 1° C. increase in PV cell operating temperature may result in a 0.45% decrease in power output.
Numerous thermal management approaches may exist for high cost solutions (e.g. for solar farms) where cooling systems may be attached to the backs of the solar cells to dissipate heat. This may not generally be an ideal solution, as the geometry may reduce natural convection. With sufficient materials and costs (and sometimes parasitic active cooling), the PVs may be cooled within reasonable operating parameters for these applications. However, this approach may not be acceptable for the developing mainstream PV market that may include PV “roofing tiles” and “roll to roll” photovoltaics. The price point of such commercial PV devices may be too low to include thermal management technology. Additionally, roof-tops—on which the mainstream PV products are frequently deployed—tend to be designed to minimize heat transfer to the roof, rather than to facilitate it. It is therefore desirable to develop a low cost means of thermal management of photovoltaic cells to improve their efficiency in their use in the mainstream commercial market.
In an embodiment, a device for managing heat in at least one photovoltaic cell may include a base component having a top surface and in thermal communication with at least a portion of at least one photovoltaic cell, and an overhang component in thermal communication with the base component, in which the overhang component may be disposed above and project over at least a portion of the top surface of the base component.
In an embodiment, a method of thermal management of at least one photovoltaic cell may include providing at least one photovoltaic cell, providing at least one thermal management device that includes a base component having a top surface and an overhang component in thermal communication with the base component, causing at least a portion of the at least one photovoltaic cell to form a thermal contact with the thermal management device, having the overhang component disposed above and projecting over at least a portion of the at least one photovoltaic cell, and exposing the thermal management device to a fluid thereby transferring an amount of heat from the thermal management device to the fluid.
In an embodiment, a method of fabricating a thermal management device for at least one photovoltaic cell includes providing a first heat conducting material, providing a second heat conducting material substantially transparent to a radiation having an energy greater than about a band-gap energy of the at least one photovoltaic cell and substantially opaque to a radiation having an energy less than about the band-gap energy of the at least one photovoltaic cell, fabricating a base component having a top surface from the first heat conducting material, the second heat conducting material, or a combination of the first and second heat conducting materials, fabricating an overhang component from the second heat conducting material, thermally contacting the overhang component with the base component, and disposing the overhang component above and over at least a portion of the top surface.
In an embodiment, a method of fabricating a thermal management device for at least one photovoltaic cell includes providing a heat conducting material substantially transparent to a radiation having an energy greater than about a band-gap energy of the at least one photovoltaic cell and substantially opaque to a radiation having an energy less than about the band-gap energy of the at least one photovoltaic cell, and fabricating a combined base component having a top surface and overhang component from the material, in which the overhang component is disposed above and over at least a portion of the top surface.
In an embodiment, a method of fabricating a thermal management device for at least one photovoltaic cell may include providing a heat conducting material substantially transparent to a radiation having an energy greater than about a band-gap energy of the at least one photovoltaic cell and substantially opaque to a radiation having an energy less than about the band-gap energy of the at least one photovoltaic cell, and fabricating a combined base, upright, and overhang component from the material, in which the base component may have a top surface and the upright component may be in thermal communication with the base component and/or the overhang component, in which the overhang component may be disposed above and over at least a portion of the top surface.
a illustrates an example of a thermal management system including high thermal conductive layers in accordance with the present disclosure.
b illustrates an example of a thermal management system including heat pipes in accordance with the present disclosure.
a-g illustrate several examples of the geometry of an overhang component in accordance with the present disclosure.
Heat can enter a PV cell according to two mechanisms. In one, the PV cell may absorb light having an energy above the band-gap energy of the cell. As a result, the electrons may be promoted across the band-gap from the HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) to the LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) by absorbing the energy. Energy in excess of the band-gap may be converted into heat energy that may be absorbed by the PV cell matrix. In the second mechanism, the PV cell may absorb light having an energy less than the band-gap energy. In this situation, no electrons may be promoted across the band gap, and the energy may simply be absorbed by the PV cell matrix as heat.
In order to improve the PV cell efficiency, the heat of the PV cell matrix should be dissipated. Heat dissipation may be accomplished by providing a thermal sink for the heat, such as a device with fins, which may be air or fluid cooled. The PV cell may be placed in thermal communication with the thermal sink, and the heat may be transferred to the cooling fluid in this manner.
Additionally, the thermal load on the PV cell may be reduced by preventing heat from being introduced into the cell initially. For example, a structure may be designed to prevent light having an energy below the band gap energy from being absorbed by the cell. Light in this energy range may produce no useable electrical current, and may simply add to the initial heat load. Such a blocking structure may therefore reduce the initial heat load on the cell and improve its efficiency.
Disclosed below are systems and methods for manufacturing a thermal management system for PV cells that reduces the initial thermal load on the cells, as well as dissipates the thermal load developed in the PV cells during operation.
The base component 210 may be formed from any material with good thermal conducting properties. In one non-limiting example, plastic materials may have a thermal conductivity on the order of about 0.1 W/mK. In another non-limiting example, glasses may have a thermal conductivity on the order of about 1 W/mK. In still another non-limiting example, metals may have a thermal conductivity of about 10W/mK to about 400 W/mK. Some non-limiting examples of such material may include a metal, glass, quartz, crystal, alumina, sapphire, polyethylene, acrylic, poly carbonate, and polyethylene terephthalate. In some embodiments, the base component may have a width of about 1 cm to about 1 m, a length of about 1 cm to about 1 m, and a thickness of about 1 mm to about 4 cm. Examples of base component widths may include about 1 cm, about 5 cm, about 10 cm, about 50 cm, about 100 cm, about 200 cm, about 400 cm, about 600 cm, about 800 cm, about 1 m, and ranges between any two of these values. Examples of base component lengths may include about 1 cm, about 5 cm, about 10 cm, about 50 cm, about 100 cm, about 200 cm, about 400 cm, about 600 cm, about 800 cm, about 1 m, and ranges between any two of these values. Examples of base component thickness may include about 1 mm, about 2 mm, about 5 mm, about 1 cm, about 2 cm, about 3 cm, about 4 cm, and ranges between any two of these values. In one non-limiting example, the base may have a width of about 3 cm, a length of about 1 m, and a thickness of about 2.5 cm.
The overhang component 225 may lie in the illumination path of the solar radiation 250. The overhang component 225 may be made from a material substantially opaque to radiation having energy less than about the band-gap energy of the PV cell, while at the same time being substantially transparent to energy greater than about the band-gap energy. In this manner, the overhang component may prevent the cell from absorbing excess heat from the sunlight, while allowing only light having energy useful in generating a photovoltaic current to illuminate the PV cell. Non-limiting examples of overhang component materials with these optical properties may include polycarbonate, polyacrylate, and polymethyl methacrylate. Without limitation, the band-gap energy may have a wavelength of about 700 nm to about 1300 nm, depending on the type of PV cell. Examples of band-gap energies may include about 700 nm, 800 nm, 900 nm, 1000 nm, 1100 nm, 1200 nm, 1300 nm, and ranges between any two of these values. As one non-limiting example, the band-gap energy of silicon may have a wavelength of about 1100 nm.
In one embodiment, the overhang component 225 may be considered substantially transparent to radiation with an energy greater that about the band-gap energy if it has a percent transmittance of greater than about 70%. Examples of substantial transparency may include a percent transmittance greater than about 75%, greater than about 80%, greater than about 85%, greater than about 90%, greater than about 95%, about 100%, and ranges between any two of these values. In one embodiment, the overhang component 225 may be considered substantially opaque to radiation with an energy less that about the band-gap energy if it has a percent transmittance of less than about 30%. Examples of substantial opacity may include a percent transmittance less than about 25%, less than about 20%, less than about 15%, less than about 10%, less than about 5%, about 0%, and ranges between any two of these values. In another embodiment, the overhang component 225 may be considered substantially opaque to radiation with an energy less that about the band-gap energy if it has a percent transmittance of less than about 10%.
In addition, the overhang component 225 may be coated with or otherwise be in contact with an anti-reflecting coating. Non-limiting examples of such anti-reflecting coating may include magnesium fluoride, an acrylic film, a nanoporous organosilicate thin film, surface modified metal oxide nano-particles, and combinations of these materials. Further, the overhang component may include an emissive dye as a material applied to the overhang surface or incorporated into the overhang material. The emissive dye may absorb radiation having an energy greater than about a band-gap energy of a photovoltaic cell and may emit radiation having an energy less than the absorbed energy and greater than about the band-gap energy of the photovoltaic cell. As a non-limiting example, the dye may absorb energy greater than about twice the band-gap energy of the photovoltaic cell. Such a dye may be useful to down-convert high energy UV photons that may damage the PV cell, to lower energy photons that may not prove as destructive. Alternatively, the emissive dye may function to up-convert multiple photons each having an energy less than the band-gap energy, and emit at least one photon at an energy greater than about a band-gap energy of a photovoltaic cell. Such dyes may include, without limitation, 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-tert-butyl-6-(1,1,7,7,-tetramethyljulolidy-9-enyl)-4H-pyran, Pt-tetraphenyltetrabenzoporphyrin, rhodamine-6G, coumarin-6, or combinations of these materials. It may be understood that such emissive dyes may be used alone or in combination, and that combinations of dyes may be incorporated into the overhang component. Thus, one embodiment of a dye combination for up-converting lower energy photons may include a combination of Pt(II)-octaethylporphyrin (photon receiver) and 9,10-diphenylanthracene (photon emitter).
In some embodiments, the overhang component 225 may be about 1 cm to about 30 cm wide, about 1 cm to about 10 m long, and about 1 mm to about 4 cm thick. Examples of overhang component widths may include about 1 cm, about 5 cm, about 10 cm, about 15 cm, about 20 cm, about 25 cm, about 30 cm, and ranges between any two of these values. Examples of overhang component lengths may include about 1 cm, about 5 cm, about 10 cm, about 50 cm, about 100 cm, about 200 cm, about 400 cm, about 600 cm, about 800 cm, about 1 m, about 2 m, about 5 m, about 10 m, and ranges between any two of these values. Examples of overhang component thickness may include about 1 mm, about 2 mm, about 5 mm, about 1 cm, about 2 cm, about 3 cm, about 4 cm, and ranges between any two of these values. In one non-limiting example, the overhang component may be about 10 cm wide, about 1 m long, and about 5 mm thick.
As the overhang component 225 may be disposed above and project over the base component 210, the overhang component may form an angle with respect to the base component. Such an angle may be about 0 degrees (0 rad) to about 80 degrees (1.4 rad). Examples of overhang component angles with respect to the base component may include about 0 degrees (0 rad), about 10 degrees (0.17 rad), about 20 degrees (0.35 rad), about 40 degrees (0.7 rad), about 60 degrees (1.05 rad), about 80 degrees (1.4 rad), and ranges between any two of these values. In one non-limiting example, the overhang component may form an angle with respect to the base component of about 50 degrees (0.87 rad).
It may be understood that the base component 210 may comprise a material that differs from the material comprising the overhang component 225. Alternatively, the base component and overhang component may be made of the same material.
While
Any type of suitable photovoltaic cell may be used with the thermal management system disclosed above. Non-limiting examples of such PV cell may include monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon, a homojunction thin film, and a heterojunction thin film. Specific examples of such cells may include, without limitation, CdTe, CaInS, InGaAs, GaInAr, CuInGaSe, fullerene compositions, phtalocyanine compositions, poly(phenylene vinylene) compositions, and perylene compositions. Combinations of these materials into more complex PV cells are also possible.
Another embodiment of a thermal management system 300 for PV cells is illustrated in
Similar to the embodiment illustrated in
In some embodiments, the upright component 335 may be about 1 mm to about 3 cm wide, about 1 cm to about 10 m long, and about 1 cm to about 1 m high. Examples of upright component widths may include about 1 mm, about 5 mm, about 1 cm, about 1.5 cm, about 2 cm, about 2.5 cm, about 3 cm, and ranges between any two of these values. Examples of upright component lengths may include about 1 cm, about 5 cm, about 10 cm, about 50 cm, about 100 cm, about 200 cm, about 400 cm, about 600 cm, about 800 cm, about 1 m, about 2 m, about 5 m, about 10 m, and ranges between any two of these values. Examples of upright component heights may include about 1 cm, about 2 cm, about 5 cm, about 10 cm, about 20 cm, about 50 cm, about 100 cm, about 200 cm, about 500 cm, about 750 cm, about 1 m, and ranges between any two of these values. In one non-limiting example, the upright component may be about 10 cm wide, about 1 m long, and about 13 cm high. Although
It may be appreciated that features associated with the overhang component in
a and b illustrate additional components to the heat management system disclosed above with respect to
a illustrates an embodiment of a thermal management system 400a comprising a base component 410a that may be in thermal communication 430a with an upright component 435a. The upright component 435a may further be in thermal communication 440a with an overhang component 425a. Unlike the configuration illustrated in
It may be appreciated that, although two layers are illustrated in
The high thermal conducting material, for example comprising 447a, 447b, 445a, and 445b, may comprise one or more of chemical vapor deposition diamond, carbon nanotubes, graphene film, glass, silicon carbide, transparent metal oxides, indium tin oxide, or their composites. In one non-limiting embodiment, the high thermal conducting material may comprise at least one layer of a transparent metal less than about 50 nm thick. In another non-limiting embodiment the high thermal conducting material may comprise at least one layer of silver about 10 nm thick. In yet another embodiment the high thermal conducting material may comprise at least one layer of glass about 2 mm to about 10 mm thick. Examples of the thickness of the glass layer may include about 2 mm, about 4 mm, about 6 mm, about 8 mm, about 10 mm, and ranges between any two of these values. As one non-limiting example, the high thermal conducting material may comprise at least one layer of glass about 2 mm thick.
As illustrated in
b illustrates another embodiment of a thermal management system 400b including the use of one or more heat pipes for improved thermal transfer. In one non-limiting embodiment, PV cell 420b may be in thermal communication with heat pipes 455a-c. The heat pipes 455a-c may be in thermal communication with base component 410b and upright component 435b. Although not illustrated in
In one non-limiting embodiment, the one or more heat pipes 455a-c may comprise a transparent high thermal conductivity material as an encapsulating exterior component, a coolant within the encapsulating exterior component, and a capillary system disposed within the exterior component and in thermal communication with the coolant. As non-limiting examples, the transparent high thermal conductivity material may comprise one or more of glass, silicon carbide, transparent metal oxides, indium tin oxide, or composites of these materials. Further non-limiting examples of the heat pipes may include a coolant comprising one or more of ethanol, methanol, mercury, ammonia, water, or combinations of these materials. Additionally, the capillary systems of the heat pipes may comprise one or more of a metal mesh wick, a grooved wick, a sintered metal wick, or combinations of such structures.
Additional thermal transfer may be accomplished by contacting a bottom surface of the PV cell (not shown) with a heat sink 560. Additional high thermal conducting materials may be placed between the bottom surface of the PV cell and the heat sink 560. The heat sink 560 may comprise any material or materials suitable for high thermal transfer to the heat sink Additionally, the heat sink 560 may have a geometry conducive to good thermal transfer to a fluid such as air that may contact it. For example, the heat sink 560 may comprise a simple block, as illustrated in
While overhang components 225 (
The heat management devices disclosed above may be used in a method to manage and reduce heat in one or more active photovoltaic cell. The method my include providing at least one photovoltaic cell, providing at least one thermal management device, contacting at least a portion of the one or more photovoltaic cells to form a thermal contact with the thermal management device, and exposing the thermal management device to a fluid thereby transferring an amount of heat from the thermal management device to the fluid. The thermal management device may include a base component having a top surface and an overhang component in thermal communication with the base component. The overhang component may form a thermal contact with the base by means of one or more of an adhesive, chemical welding, heat welding, spot welding, and/or a high thermal conductivity tape. Alternatively, the overhang component may make a thermal contact with the base component by virtue of the two components being fabricated as a single unit. The overhang component may be disposed above and project over at least a portion of the one or more photovoltaic cells.
One or more photovoltaic cells may form a thermal contact with either the top surface or a bottom surface of the base component. Some non-limiting examples of such a thermal contact may include gluing the PV cell to the base component with a heat transfer adhesive, chemical welding, heat welding, spot welding, and/or through the use of a high thermal conductivity tape. As non-limiting examples, the adhesives may include one or more of cyanoacrylates, acrylic resins, toughened acrylics, anaerobic locking compounds, multi-component adhesives, epoxies, polyurethanes, silicones, phenolics, polyimides, hot melts, thermoplastics, plastisols, rubber adhesives, polyvinyl acetate and pressure-sensitive adhesives, neoprene and nitrile based contact adhesives. As disclosed above, the overhang component may include a material substantially transparent to a radiation having an energy greater than about the band-gap energy of the one or more photovoltaic cell and substantially opaque to a radiation having an energy less than about the band-gap energy of the one photovoltaic cell(s). Further, the overhang may include an anti-reflecting coating or an emissive dye.
As illustrated in
A structure similar to that disclosed in
When the thermal management device is exposed to a fluid, the fluid may flow passively in thermal communication with the thermal management device (such as a wind). Alternative, the fluid may be actively directed to flow in thermal communication with the thermal management device (a fan or water cooling system with a pump, as non-limiting examples).
The thermal management device as disclosed above may be manufactured according to a number of different methods. In one embodiment, the base component and the overhang component may be separately fabricated. The overhang component may be fabricated from a heat conducting material substantially transparent to a radiation having an energy greater than about a band-gap energy of the at least one photovoltaic cell, and substantially opaque to a radiation having an energy less than about the band-gap energy of the at least one photovoltaic cell. The base component may be fabricated from the same material as the overhang, a different heat conducting material, or a combination of the two. The overhang component may be disposed above and at least partially over the base component, and the two components may be fixed together to maintain a thermal contact between the two. The two components may be fabricated by any suitable method including molding, extruding, cutting, shaping, deposition, and milling. The method may also include contacting or coating the upright component with a reflective coating, and the upright component may also include an emissive dye.
In another embodiment, an upright component may be fabricated from either the material used for fabricating the overhang component, a different heat conducting material, or a combination of the two. The upright component may be placed in thermal communication with the overhang component at one end and with the base component at another end. The thermal contacts between the upright component and the overhang component, and the upright component and the base component may be accomplished by any suitable method including gluing, chemical welding, heat welding, spot welding, and/or through the use of a high thermal conductivity tape. One or more high thermal conducting materials, including but not limited to material layers and heat pipes, may be placed in thermal communication with the thermal management system after it is assembled. The high thermal conducting materials may contact one or more of the base component, the overhang component, and the upright component, if one is included in the thermal management system.
As disclosed above, in one embodiment, the thermal management device may comprise an overhang component and a base component having a top surface. In another embodiment, the thermal management device may comprise an overhang component, an upright component, and a base component having a top surface. Either or both of these embodiments may be fabricated from a single heat conducting material substantially transparent to a radiation having an energy greater than about a band-gap energy of the at least one photovoltaic cell, and substantially opaque to a radiation having an energy less than about the band-gap energy of at least one photovoltaic cell. In either or both embodiments, the overhang component may be fabricated so that it is disposed above and projects over at least a portion of the top surface. The method by which either embodiment or both embodiments may be fabricated may comprise one or more of molding, extruding, cutting, shaping, deposition, and milling.
In addition, either or both thermal management devices may include an anti-reflective coating associated with the overhang component. Further, either or both thermal management devices may include an emissive dye associated with the overhang component. Additional high thermal conducting materials may also be applied to the thermal management devices either as layers or as heat pipes.
A thermal management device may be fabricated having a base component, an upright component, and an overhang component. The device may be fabricated from a single 0.944 inch (2.4 cm) thick acrylic sheet overlaid with a high transmission acrylic sheet having a coating providing less than about 5% reflectance. The base component may be about 8 inches (20 cm) wide, and about 40 inches (1 m) long. The upright component may be perpendicular to the base component and about 5 inches (13 cm) high and about 40 inches (1 m) long. The overhang component may form an angle of about 135 degrees (2.35 rad) with respect to the upright component and may further be about 12 inches (30 cm) wide and about 40 inches (1 m) long. Sheets of 2 mm thick glass may be cut and fastened together to form an ‘L’ shaped component such as by fusing the pieces together. The ‘L’ shaped glass component may be coated with a layer about 100 μm thick of chemical vapor deposition (“CVD”) diamond. The CVD diamond coated glass components may then be affixed to the top surface of the base component and inner surface of the upright component so that the CVD diamond surface may be exposed. In one non-limiting embodiment, the coated glass may be affixed onto the base component and upright component through the use of an adhesive. In another embodiment, the coated glass may be affixed onto the base component and the upright component by heating the base and upright components until they soften, thereby allowing the coated glass to adhere directly to the base and upright components. A silicon photovoltaic cell array may be placed in thermal communication with the CVD diamond layer on the base by means of an adhesive, the array measuring about 6.8 inches (17.35 cm) wide and about 40 inches (1 m) long.
The thermal management device disclosed in Example 1, above, may reduce the amount of solar radiation having wavelengths greater than the band-gap energy wavelength. An acrylic sheet about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick may have a percent transmittance equal to or greater than 80% for solar radiation having a wavelength of about 410 nm to about 1100 nm. Except for a high transmittance peak for radiation at around 1525 nm, the acrylic may have a percent transmittance less than or equal to about 25% for radiation having a wavelength greater than about 1300 nm. An acrylic sheet coated with an antireflective coating providing less than about 5% reflectance may increase the percent transmission of radiation having a wavelength of about 400 nm to about 750 nm to over 95%. As a result, approximately about 70% of the solar radiation having a wavelength greater than about 1100 nm may be absorbed and dissipated by the overhang component. Thus, only about 30% of the solar spectrum energy that may not result in direct current production may reach the PV cell. While the acrylic overhang material may have some absorbance in the “productive” range of the solar spectrum (400 nm to the band gap energy of about 1100 nm for silicon PV devices), about 97% of the radiation in the “productive” range may still impinge on the PV cells.
A thermal management device essentially as disclosed in Example 1 may be fabricated by casting the base component, upright component, and overhang component as a single structure out of an acrylic material. A thin sheet of glass substrate about 2 mm thick may be coated with a layer about 100 μm thick of chemical vapor deposition (“CVD”) diamond. The diamond-coated glass may then be cut and fused together to form an ‘L’ shaped component having dimensions to fit against the inner surface of the cast acrylic thermal management device. The coated glass may then be affixed to the cast acrylic thermal management device either by a transparent adhesive or by annealing the acrylic to permit the glass to partially imbed in the body of the device. The PV cells may be affixed onto the CVD diamond surface of the glass substrate on the base structure. An adhesive thermal grease may be used to insure proper thermal contact between the PV cell and the CVD diamond surface.
The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated in this disclosure, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods, reagents, compounds, or compositions, which can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.
With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms in this disclosure, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth in this disclosure for sake of clarity. It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used in this disclosure, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). While various compositions, methods, and devices are described in terms of “comprising” various components or steps (interpreted as meaning “including, but not limited to”), the compositions, methods, and devices can also “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the various components and steps, and such terminology should be interpreted as defining essentially closed-member groups.
It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one ” and “one or more ” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more ” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed in this disclosure also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed in this disclosure can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as “up to,” “at least,” and the like include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member.
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2011-011-610. | Feb 2011 | DE | national |
| 10-2011-120.068.5 | Dec 2011 | DE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US12/51036 | 8/16/2012 | WO | 00 | 12/6/2014 |
