Patent Application
20140090316
Electrical power generation units, for example renewable energy systems such as solar photovoltaic systems, may be connected to an electrical utility grid or act as stand-alone power generation units and have become popular with home and business owners. It is common for customers to purchase solar photovoltaic systems for both purposes, such systems being most commonly installed on rooftops. Basic roof top solar photovoltaic systems involve one or more standardized solar panels which are attached to or integrated with mounting racks. Solar photovoltaic systems, including the solar photovoltaic panels, inverter, and mounting racks are designed and installed by providers, and typically must be customized for particular customers. The number of panels per system, electrical connections between individual panels, power-consuming devices, and the electric utility grid, zoning conditions, and installation site accessibility, among other factors, can significantly increase system prices.
Roof installation involves anchoring the system at a number of points throughout, requiring penetration at a number of anchor points. Each anchoring point 100, such as the one shown in
Further, roof construction, replacement, and overall life spans will not necessarily coincide with a solar photovoltaic system installation's lifespan, or a roof may become damaged by hail, falling trees or other like occurrences that will necessitate replacement or repair of the roof. In the event of such occurrences, roof-penetrating anchoring systems may need to be uninstalled and reinstalled a number of times, thereby detrimentally affecting overall system economics.
Embodiments of the invention relate to modular roof-top mounting frames which require minimal or no penetration for rooftop installation and are capable or accepting solar panels or may be integrated into plug-and-play solar photovoltaic systems. Mounting frames may comprise a plurality of hinged brackets each having a first arm and a second arm connected at hinge point. When the plurality of hinged brackets are aligned or connected, the plurality of first arms align to substantially form a first plane and the plurality of second arms align to substantially form a second plane. One or more photovoltaic solar panels may be mounted throughout the first plane, throughout the second plane, or throughout both the first plane and throughout the second plane.
Solar photovoltaic systems which incorporate various embodiments of mounting frames described herein may further comprise one or more solar panels, an electrical power generation unit, a power inverter, and a power outlet, which may be connectible to energy storage units, electrically-powered devices, or an electric utility grid.
The accompanying drawings illustrate non-limiting example embodiments of the invention.
Embodiments of the invention relate to modular roof-top mounting frames which require minimal or no penetration for rooftop installation and are capable of accepting solar panels or may be integrated into plug-and-play solar photovoltaic systems. Mounting frames may comprise a plurality of hinged brackets each having a first arm and a second arm connected at hinge point. When the plurality of hinged brackets are aligned or connected, the plurality of first arms align to substantially form a first plane and the plurality of second arms align to substantially form a second plane. One or more photovoltaic solar panels may be mounted throughout the first plane, throughout the second plane, or throughout both the first plane and throughout the second plane.
Solar photovoltaic systems which incorporate various embodiments of mounting frames described herein may further comprise one or more solar panels, an electrical power generation unit, a power inverter, and a power outlet, which may be connectible to energy storage units, electrically-powered devices, or an electric utility grid.
Throughout the following description, specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the invention. However, the invention may be practiced without these particulars. In other instances, well known elements have not been shown or described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments may be combined, other elements may be utilized or structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative, rather than a restrictive, sense.
All publications, patents and patent documents referred to in this document are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, as though individually incorporated by reference. In the event of inconsistent usages between this document and those documents so incorporated by reference, the usage in the incorporated references should be considered supplementary to that of this document; for irreconcilable inconsistencies, the usage in this document controls.
In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patent documents, to include one or more than one, independent of any other instances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more”. In this document, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that “A, B or C” includes “A only”, “B only”, “C only”, “A and B”, “B and C”, “A and C”, and “A, B and C”, unless otherwise indicated. The terms “above” and “below” are used to describe two different directions in relation to the center of a composite and the terms “upper” and “lower” may be used to describe two different surfaces of a composite. In the appended aspects or claims, the terms “first”, “second” and “third”, etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.
The term “about” can refer to a variation of ±5%, ±10%, ±20%, or ±25% of the value specified. For example, “about 50” percent can in some embodiments carry a variation from 45 to 55 percent. For integer ranges, the term “about” can include one or two integers greater than and/or less than a recited integer at each end of the range.
Mounting frames as described herein may refer to stand-alone frames or integrated components of solar photovoltaic power systems.
When multiple hinged brackets are combined, the two first arms align to substantially form a plane, on which solar panels may be mounted. The second arms align to substantially form a plane, on which solar panels may also be mounted. One or more solar panels may be mounted on the first plane, on the second plane, or on both planes. Mounting frames will often contain solar panels on the first plane, or the second plane, depending on the orientation to the sun. The first arms and second arms may be lengthened or shortened to accommodate for more or larger solar panels, available rooftop space, rooftop shape, or ballasting concerns. All first arms need not be the same length, and all second arms need not be the same length. For example, a particular mounting frame may have 4 hinged brackets, wherein two adjacent first arms are each 10 feet long and two adjacent first arms are each 15 feet long. In this particular example embodiment, the second arms may be any length, for example 5 feet. Similarly, first arms and second arms need not be the same length, as shown in
The embodiments disclosed herein may be advantageously mounted to a rooftop without penetrating any layers of the roof, thereby avoiding damage to the rooftop and minimizing installation costs. Adhesive may be used to secure the mounting frame to a rooftop, and also prevent wind flow between the mounting frame and the roof, or between the roof and any solar panels attached to or integrated with the mounting frame. In some embodiments, the adhesive will have a coefficient of thermal expansion value between the coefficient of thermal expansion of the contacting roof surface and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the contacting mounting frame surface. In some embodiments the adhesive is butyl rubber.
A modular design allows for a plurality of hinged brackets to be incorporated in a solar mounting frame 220, as shown in
Arm length may also be adjusted for ballasting concerns. The first arms, the second arms, or both the first arms and the second arms may act as ballasting arms. The arms may also be weighted to accomplish ballasting of the mounting frame. For example, where a roof gable is shallow (i.e. about 15 degrees), longer arms are required to ballast the mounting frame. Conversely, a steeper gable (i.e. about 45 degrees) will require a shorter ballasting arm. If rooftop space, rooftop shape, aesthetic concerns, or other considerations limit the length to which a ballasting arm may be extended, the ballasting arm may be weighted to compensate for any deficiency in length. Weights 215 may also be added for further stability, as shown in
High winds can disrupt the position of a mounting frame on a roof, particularly when a large number or solar panels are attached thereon, or a high amount of solar panel surface area is present. For example, for a mounting frame or solar photovoltaic power system positioned on a two-plane roof, or a roof with a peak edge oriented from East to West, a high wind in a North-to-South direction will create a high pressure area on the North side and a low pressure area on the South side. The pressure differential will cause the mounting frame to change positions or even lift entirely off the rooftop.
Embodiments of the mounting frame described herein provide a number of features to prevent wind-induced position disruption, such as the sealing adhesive, wind-blocking end caps, and customizable ballasting features as described above. Some embodiments further comprise a plurality of holes or openings 212, as shown in
In other embodiments, a mounting frame may further comprise a gable-mounted pivot-bar. The pivot-bar would run substantially parallel to the roof line, with each end being mounted to opposing gables. The pivot-bar would be rotatably attached to the mounting frame at or near the plurality of hinges or arm connection points, thereby providing enhanced wind-induced position disruption protection, without penetration of the rooftop. One or more roof-penetrating anchoring points may be required at or near the roofline depending on the length of the pivot-bar and roofline. For example, for a roofline greater than about 20 feet, greater than about 25 feet, or greater than about 30 feet, it may be necessary to attach the center of the pivot-bar to a roof-penetrating anchor point. Other customizable features described above may obviate use of roof-penetrating anchor points for embodiments which comprise gable-mounted pivot-bars.
The mounting frames previously disclosed may be incorporated with other components to provide a roof-mountable solar photovoltaic power system. Such systems may comprise one or more solar photovoltaic panels 100 capable of generating electrical power, a power inverter 110 and a power outlet, as depicted schematically in
In some embodiments the system may comprise one or more snow removing, wiping, and cleaning devices, which may be operated or powered by battery, hand-crank, wind turbine, or other suitable means. Examples of such snow removal devices can be found in co-owned U.S. Patent Application 20110308574 A1 titled “SOLAR POWERED ELECTRICAL GENERATION DEVICE AND RELATED METHODS”, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
The system may deliver electrical power to an electrical utility grid 120, depicted schematically in
Advantages of the solar photovoltaic power systems described herein are realized further realized in their “plug-and-play” capability, wherein prefabricated modular systems can be quickly and efficiently installed on virtually any rooftop and immediately begin delivering or storing power. Examples of such “Plug-and-play” devices can be found in co-owned U.S. Patent Application 20110308574 A1 titled “SOLAR POWERED ELECTRICAL GENERATION DEVICE AND RELATED METHODS”, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/708,675, filed on 2 Oct. 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61708675 | Oct 2012 | US |
