Patent ID: 8096296
Filing Date: 2012-01-17
Classification: C03C,F24S,Y02E,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A vacuum solar thermal panel comprising: a vacuum envelope defining a sealed volume and able to withstand atmospheric pressure when evacuated; at least one heat absorber being disposed inside the vacuum envelope; a pipe entering and exiting the envelope and being in contact with the heat absorber, wherein said vacuum envelope comprises wherein said metallic peripheral belt is continuous and vacuum tight and is joined to the first glass plate and to the peripheral frame by way of a vacuum tight seal, wherein said vacuum tight seal between said metallic peripheral belt and said first glass plate is a vacuum tight bulk glass-metal seal comprising glass material, said vacuum tight glass-metal seal being obtained by fusion and subsequent solidification of said glass material, wherein said glass material of the vacuum tight bulk glass-metal seal embeds the metallic peripheral belt such that said glass material adheres to two opposite surfaces of the metallic peripheral belt and to said first plate on either side of the metallic peripheral belt, and wherein said metallic peripheral belt comprises at least one elastically deformable curved portion being disposed between two portions of the metallic peripheral belt which are less elastically deformable than the at least one elastically deformable curved portion and being at least elastically deformable such that the metallic peripheral belt prevents said bulk glass-metal seal from being damaged and is no more vacuum tight when subject to an evacuation process of the envelope and the thermal treatments of the panel and the potential reciprocal displacements of the glass plate and the joined metallic peripheral belt.