Solar panels, such as solar photovoltaic panels, are used in residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale applications. In residential and commercial applications, solar panels are typically mounted to roof structures such as pitched shingle roofs, tile roofs, metal roofs, or concrete roofs. For utility-scale and industrial applications, solar panels are often positioned over the ground using ground-mounted structures. Solar panels are typically arranged in rows and columns known as solar panel arrays. Solar panel arrays are commonly secured to rails that can span the length of one or more solar panels. The rails can be secured to roof or ground-mounted structures using various types of brackets.
Solar panels can be secured to rails using over-the-panel clamps and under-the-panel clamps. Over-the-panel clamps typically secure a solar panel to a rail by clamping downward on the top of the solar panel's frame. Over-the-panel clamps come in several styles. These include mid clamps and end clamps. Mid clamps are positioned between two adjacent solar panels. End clamps are positioned on the outside perimeter of the solar panel array.
Under-the-panel clamps typically secure the underside of the inward-facing lower lip, or return flange, of the solar panel frame to the rail. Under-the-panel clamps are also known as solar panel bottom clamps.
Solar panel racking systems (also known as solar panel mounting systems) can use a combination of over-the-panel clamps and solar panel bottom clamps. For example, a solar panel racking system can use over-the-panel mid clamps between solar panels and solar panel bottom clamps under the perimeter edges of the solar panel array.
The inventor set out to improve solar panel bottom clamps. As a solar panel racking system designer, he set out to make it easier for the system installers to install and repair solar panel racking systems. He observed that many solar panel bottom clamps require hand tools to install and are not easy to access. He also observed that solar panel bottom clamps that are easy to access are often complex and expensive to fabricate. To the inventor's knowledge, commercially available solar panel bottom clamps are only compatible with slotted rails.
The inventor developed a solar panel bottom clamp that can work with both slotted and slotless rails, can be installed with either hand tools or power tools, is easy to access, simple in design, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
The device includes a clamp body and a clamping mechanism that resides at least partially within the clamp body. The clamp body can include a bottom and a pair of sides extending upward from the bottom. The pair of sides includes a corresponding pair of slot-shaped openings. The slot-shaped openings are open on one end, parallel to each other, and extend widthwise along the sides of the clamp body. The clamping mechanism is disposed to selectively narrow the distance between the pair of slot-shaped openings and the top surface of the clamping mechanism.
Expanding upon the principle described above, the clamp body and the slot-shaped openings are sized, shaped, and positioned to receive a rail between the pair slot-shaped openings and the clamping mechanism. The slot-shaped openings are sized and shaped to receive the return flange of the solar panel. As the clamping mechanism is adjusted upward, it presses the rail and the return flange against the upper edge of the slot-shaped openings, securing the solar panel to the rail.
The clamping mechanism can include a threaded fastener. The threaded fastener can engage a movable member that is also threaded and cause the movable member to move up and down, i.e., toward, or away from the slot-shaped openings. The clamping mechanism can alternatively include a threaded fastener, a stationary member, and a movable member. The threaded fastener passes through the stationary member and engages the movable member, which causes the movable member to move up or down, toward, or away from the pair of slot-shaped openings. With the rail received by the clamp body and the return flanges received by the slot-shaped openings as described above, turning the threaded fastener can cause the movable member to move upward, pressing the rail against the return flange and the return flange against the top of the slot-shaped openings.
The inventor built and tested an example, using principles described above, where a threaded fastener engages an unthreaded first wedge and threadedly engages a second wedge. The first wedge is held stationary to the clamp body. As the threaded fastener is turned, depending on the direction, the second wedge is drawn inward and moves upward along the first wedge, or is drawn outward and moves downward along the first wedge. As the threaded fastener moves up the first wedge, it narrows the distance between the top of the clamping mechanism (i.e., top of the second wedge) and the slot-shaped openings. When the rail and return flange are received by the clamp body, as previously described, drawing the second wedge upward along the first wedge presses the rail against the return flange and the return flange against the top of the slot-shaped openings. In this example, the threaded fastener can be adjusted using power tools or hand tools from the edge of the solar panel array. The first wedge, second wedge, and clamp body can be extruded for economy. They can alternatively be cast, molded, 3D printed, or stamped and formed.
The inventor envisions the principles described in this disclosure can be applied to other devices for mounting solar panel return flanges to rails. In one example, the clamping mechanism could include a threaded fastener, a threaded stationary nut, and a lever arm. In another example, the inventor envisions the clamping mechanism could include a threaded fastener, a threaded movable nut, and a compressible member. For example, the compressible member can be a cone-shaped object or a compressible wedge. In yet another example, the inventor envisions the clamping mechanism as a threaded fastener whose body passes into a threaded aperture in the bottom of the clamp body.
In addition, it is the inventor's intent that his concept can encompass a system that includes the solar panels, rails, mounting brackets, as well as the solar panel bottom clamps discussed above. In addition, he envisions this system be applied to residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale applications including roof-mounted and ground-mounted systems.
These examples and the above-mentioned advantages are representative and are not meant to limit the inventive concept to the examples given or the discussed advantages. This summary is not exhaustive. Additional features and advantages will be apparent from the Detailed Description, drawings, and claims.
When describing the figures, the terms “top,” “bottom,” “front,” and “side,” are from the perspective of a person standing in front of a solar panel assembly. Specific dimensions are intended to help the reader understand the scale of the disclosed material. Dimensions given are typical and the claims are not limited to the recited dimensions. Ordinals such as “first,” “second,” or “third,” are used in this Detailed Description and in the Claims to differentiate between similarly-named parts and do not imply a particular order, preference, or importance. “Optional” or “optionally” is used throughout this disclosure to describe features or structures that are optional. Not using the word “optional” or “optionally” to describe a feature or structure does not imply that the feature or structure is not optional. Finally, the word “or” is used in the ordinary sense to mean an “inclusive or,” unless preceded by a qualifier, such as the word “either,” that signals an “exclusive or.”
The following terms are used throughout this disclosure and are defined here for clarity and convenience.
Solar Panel Bottom Clamp: As defined in this disclosure, a solar panel bottom clamp is a device that secures the return flange of a solar panel frame to a solar panel mounting device. The solar panel mounting device is typically a rail.
Return Flange: As defined in this disclosure, a return flange is the lower lip portion of a solar panel frame that projects inward underneath the solar panel.
The solar panel racking system 104, as illustrated, includes two instances of mid clamp 103, six instances of roof bracket 105, two instances of rail 106, and four instances of solar panel bottom clamp 107. The solar panel assembly 100 is simplified for illustration. Typically, residential, commercial, industrial, or utility-scale solar arrays, include many more solar panels. For example, a 20 kW residential array using 480 W solar panels could require an array size of forty-two solar panels. A 1000 kW commercial system could include as many as 2000 solar panels. Such a commercial system would require hundreds of the mid clamp 103, roof bracket 105, rail 106, and solar panel bottom clamp 107.
General Concepts
The solar panel racking system 104, as illustrated in
This General Concepts section describes general principles. For simplicity, these general principles are discussed in terms of
In
Referring to
The pair of slot-shaped openings, being open on one end, allows them to receive a planar surface that is wider than the width of the clamp body 109, for example, the return flange 102c of
Referring to
In
In
In general, the clamping mechanism can include a movable member. It can alternatively include a threaded fastener and a movable member. It can include a threaded fastener, a stationary member, and a movable member. In the last instance, the threaded fastener can either threadedly engage the stationary member and non-threadedly engage the movable member or the threaded fastener can threadedly engage the movable member and non-threadedly engage the stationary member. In the variations described in this paragraph, the movable member, through selective engagement, narrows the distance between the pair of slot-shaped openings and the top surface of the movable member. Examples of each will be discussed later in this Detailed Description.
Applying at least some of the concepts discussed in this section, a solar panel bottom clamp can be constructed inexpensively and with few components. These components can be extruded for cost and strength. Alternatively, the can be stamped and formed, cast, or 3D printed. The components can be made from aluminum, steel, plastic, or any material with sufficient strength to clamp and support a solar panel to a roof or ground-mount structure and capable of withstanding the environmental conditions typical of solar panel racking systems.
The inventor envisions that the principles discussed in this section can be applied to a wide range of solar panel bottom clamps, examples of which, are discussed below.
Now we will discuss the particular implementation of the solar panel bottom clamp 107 illustrated in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The compressible member 134 is typically made from ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (i.e., EPDM), natural rubber, or a synthetic rubber such as polychloroprene (i.e., neoprene). The compressible member 134 can be made from any compressible material that can withstand the environmental conditions typical of a solar panel installation and has sufficient resistance to deflection under the load of the solar panel, to clamp the solar panel in place.
In the previous examples, the threaded fastener was positioned horizontally with the head of the fastener facing away from the solar panel array. This allows the solar panel bottom clamp to be easily adjusted using a power tool. There may be instances where it is desirable to adjust the solar panel bottom clamp from below. An example of this, could be a ground-mounted solar panel array where the installer has access vertically from below rather than horizontally from the sides.
As the threaded fastener 143 threadedly engages the clamp body 149, it moves into the clamp body 149 and closes the distance between the top portion 140a of the clamping mechanism 140 (i.e., the end of the threaded fastener 143) and the pair of slot-shaped openings (i.e., slot-shaped opening 149d and slot-shaped opening 149e). If a rail and return flange were received in the clamp body 149 as previously described, tightening the threaded fastener 143 would press the rail up against the return flange and clamp the return flange to the rail.
Alternative Clamp Bodies
In the examples given, the clamp body 109 of
The clamp body 159 can be readily substituted for clamp body 109 of
The clamp body 109 of
For example, the clamp body could have a rectangular cross section. The clamp body could alternatively have a u-shaped cross section with an open top. In either case, the stationary member of the clamping mechanism could be secured to the bottom of the clamp body. For example, the clamping mechanism could be captured in grooves or channels in the bottom of the clamp body. The inside surface of the clamp body could also be flat. The stationary member could be secured to the clamp body by threaded fasteners extending upward through the bottom of the clamp body and into the stationary member or downward through the stationary member into the bottom of the clamp body. The stationary member could also be secured to the bottom by adhesive or by permanent tape.
Described are devices for mounting solar panels to rails as well a systems that include such devices, solar panels, rails, and other solar panel racking system components. This disclosure describes general principles in terms of one example and then has applied these general principles to a number of examples. These examples represent a sample that show how the general principles can be applied. The description is not exhaustive and not exclusive. Other variations are possible. As shown, elements from one example can be applied to another. The solar panel bottom clamp 107 of
The variations described, the general principles taught, as well as undescribed variations, devices, and systems that encompass at least some of the general principles described in this disclosure, are within the scope of the claims.
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