Patent ID: 9404676
Filing Date: 2016-08-02
CPC Classification: F24S,Y02E

Claim Text:
1. A vacuum solar thermal panel comprising: (a) at least one solar absorber pipe; (b) a solar absorber plate thermally associated with said solar absorber pipe; and (c) a pipe housing for the solar absorber pipe having a base portion and a retention element for said pipe, the retention element depending upwardly from said base portion, said element in the form of a fork having left and right tines of like mirrored geometry, each tine having an inwardly directed retaining tip, said tines in combination with said base portion having a resilient character, permitting urging apart of said tines by said solar absorber pipe, said base portion and said tines defining an open housing space therebetween having different cross-sectional widths as measured in parallel with said base portion, said cross-sections greatest at a vertical center of said housing exiting at a mouth of said housing, said mouth having a cross-section less than that of said pipe, said greatest cross-section proportioned to exceed a diameter of said pipe, allowing for expansion thereof within the tines, each inwardly directed retaining tip of each tine located above said base at a distance allowing slidable freedom of longitudinal movement of a pipe without permitting measurable movement vertically within said housing space, in which the solar absorber pipe is in contact with the solar absorber plate through said mouth of said housing (d) the solar absorber pipe has a substantially cylindrical shape and is tangentially in contact with the solar absorber plate through said mouth of said housing.