Patent ID: 11876484
Assignee: RENEWABLE ENERGY PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING CORP.
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  G | IPC G  H

Claim 15:
16. A system, comprising:
a solar panel comprising a plurality of solar cells, and a plurality of thermochromic temperature sensors thermally coupled to different areas of the solar panel, wherein the thermochromic temperature sensors are configured to change color in response to heat generated by the solar cells in the different areas of the solar panel; and
a control system configured to detect colors of the thermochromic temperature sensors, determine a temperature of each area of the solar panel based on the detected colors of the thermochromic temperature sensors, and cause the solar panel to shut down in response to determining that the temperature of at least one area of the solar panel exceeds a predetermined temperature threshold;
wherein the control system comprises:
an optical system in optical communication with the thermochromic temperature sensors;
a photodetector module coupled to the optical system; and
a control module coupled to the photodetector module; and

wherein the optical system comprises:
a plurality of optical interfaces, wherein each optical interface is associated with a respective one of the thermochromic temperature sensors;
wherein each optical interface comprises a lens, a prism coupled to the lens, and a fiber optic cable coupled to the prism;
wherein the lens is configured to collect and focus the colored light which emerges from the associated thermochromic temperature sensor;
wherein the prism is configured to reflect the focused colored light into the fiber optic cable; and
wherein the fiber optic cable is configured to transmit the colored light from the associated thermochromic temperature sensor to the photodetector module.