Solar panel installation structure

Abstract

To provide an installation structure using an adhesive-type support metal fitting, which facilitates installation work and achieves a firm installation state without the risk of separation.SOLUTION: In a solar cell panel installation structure using a support fitting 31 formed of plate material and having a grounding piece 32 grounded to an installation surface 12 from one end in the longitudinal direction, a standing piece 33 rising from one end of the grounding piece 32, and a receiving piece 34 extending from the upper end of the standing piece 33 and receiving the solar cell panel, the grounding piece 32 is bonded and fixed to the installation surface 12. A sheet-like pressing member 51 having a width wider than the width of the grounding piece 32 and a large area is superimposed on the grounding piece 32, and the grounding piece 32 is bonded and fixed to the installation surface 12 in a pressed state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a technique for installing a solar cell panel on an installation surface such as a rooftop, a pitched roof, or a paved surface.

Background Art

[0002] As metal fittings for installing a solar cell panel on the above-described installation surface, there are those disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below.

[0003] The metal fitting of Patent Document 1 is fixed to a concrete block as a weight at the lower end, and the metal fitting of Patent Document 2 presses the lower end with a concrete block.

[0004] These metal fittings are formed by pressing a metal plate of a certain width, have a simple structure, can be manufactured at low cost, and have a simple usage method. Also, the concrete block can be easily obtained. Nevertheless, the weight of the concrete block can be effectively utilized, and sufficient installation strength can be obtained.

[0005] However, for the installation work, it was essential to carry a weight such as a concrete block or a curb.

[0006] Therefore, an adhesive-type solar cell panel installation structure as disclosed in Patent Document 3 below was devised.

[0007] This installation structure extends a grounding piece fixed to the installation surface in the metal fitting for the solar cell panel in a direction corresponding to the inside of the solar cell panel, and fixes this grounding piece to the installation surface with an adhesive. By using an appropriate adhesive, it is possible to obtain a fixing strength higher than that of fixing with a heavy curb placed thereon.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0008]

Patent Document 1

[0009] However, the solar panel support is made by pressing a metal plate of a certain width, and the grounding piece is in the shape of an elongated plate. Therefore, when there are irregularities on the installation surface, there is a risk that the adhesion may be partially insufficient.

[0010] Therefore, the main object of this invention is to obtain a strong installation state without the risk of peeling while making the installation work easy. [Means for Solving the Problems]

[0011] The means therefor is a solar panel installation structure in which a support fitting formed of a plate material and having a grounding piece that grounds to the installation surface from one end portion in the longitudinal direction, a standing piece that stands up from one end of the grounding piece, and a receiving piece that projects from the upper end of the standing piece and receives a solar panel is used to install the solar panel, and a sheet-like pressing member having a width wider than the width of the grounding piece and a large area is overlapped on the grounding piece, and the solar panel installation structure is adhesively fixed to the installation surface while pressing the grounding piece.

[0012] In this configuration, since the pressing member is adhesively fixed at a position wider than the grounding piece in the width direction on the installation surface, it is possible to obtain a desired fixed state with respect to the installation surface more reliably than fixing with the grounding piece alone, and it is also possible to improve the fixing strength. The pressing member that can be fixed in this way presses and restrains the grounding piece, suppresses the displacement of the grounding piece, suppresses the generation of stress, and protects the grounding piece. The sheet-like pressing member can be formed lightweight and is easy to handle even if there are many sheets. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, the pressing member can fix the grounding piece more reliably and firmly than in the case of the grounding piece alone, and since the grounding piece is configured to be restrained by the pressing member, a high-strength fixing state of the grounding piece, and thus a firm installation state of the solar panel can be obtained. Moreover, since the pressing member presses and restrains the grounding piece from above, it is possible to prevent unexpected damage to the grounding piece, and when the grounding piece is adhesively fixed to the installation surface, it effectively suppresses the occurrence of tension, shear, tearing, and peeling caused by the stress acting on the adhesive, and protects the adhesive state of the grounding piece.

[0014] Moreover, since the pressing member is separate from the support fitting, the simple structure of the support fitting can be maintained, and by using the pressing member partially as needed, appropriate installation can be performed according to the site conditions.

[0015] In addition, the pressing member is in the form of a sheet, which is easy to carry and is fixed by adhesion. Therefore, the work is easier compared to the case of carrying heavy objects, and the workability for installation is good.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016] [Figure 1] Perspective view of the solar panel installation structure. [Figure 2] Perspective view of the main part. [Figure 3] Plan view and front view of the pressing member. [Figure 4] Explanatory drawing showing the relationship between the part centered on the pressing surface of the pressing member and the grounding piece. [Figure 5] Cross-sectional view showing the fixed state of the grounding piece. [Figure 6] Perspective view of the installation structure fixed with a curb as a comparative example. [Figure 7] Cross-sectional view showing a stepped portion according to another example.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] One embodiment for implementing this invention will be described below using the following drawings.

[0018] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a solar panel installation structure 11 (hereinafter referred to as the “installation structure”). This installation structure 11 is suitable for installing a solar panel 13 on an installation surface 12 having a flat surface such as a rooftop of a building, and is a structure that supports the solar panel 13 above the installation surface 12 using a set of two support brackets 31.

[0019] The support brackets 31 support the solar panel 13 while tilting it with respect to the installation surface 12, and there are two types: a support bracket 31a on the lower side of the tilt and a support bracket 31b on the upper side of the tilt. Each support bracket 31 is formed of a plate material and is formed by pressing a metal plate with a certain width.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2, the support bracket 31a on the lower side of the tilt has a grounding piece 32 that grounds to the installation surface 12, a standing piece 33 that stands up from one end of the grounding piece 32, and a receiving piece 34 that projects from the upper end of the standing piece 33 to receive the solar panel 13.

[0021] At the longitudinal end of the grounding piece 32, that is, the end opposite to the standing piece 33, it has a standing end portion 32a that stands up vertically like the standing piece 33. This standing end portion 32a is formed to a height such that it can catch when a weight such as a coping stone is placed on the upper surface of the grounding piece 32.

[0022] The height of the standing piece 33 is set as low as possible. This is suppression to reduce the influence of the wind received by the supported solar panel 13.

[0023] The receiving piece 34 projects to the side opposite to the grounding piece 32. Since it is the support bracket 31a on the lower side of the tilt, the angle between the receiving piece 34 and the standing piece 33 is an obtuse angle obtained by adding the desired tilt angle to 90 degrees.

[0024] A through-hole 34a is formed in the center of the receiving piece 34. This through-hole 34a is the part through which a bolt (not shown) for fixing the solar cell panel 13 is inserted.

[0025] The support bracket 31b on the upper inclined side has basically the same structure as the support bracket 31a on the lower inclined side, as shown in Figure 1. The differences are the height of the upright piece 33 and the inclination angle of the receiving piece 34. Specifically, the upright piece 33 of the support bracket 31b on the upper inclined side is formed to be slightly higher than that of the support bracket 31a on the lower inclined side, taking into account the length in the inclined direction of the solar cell panel 13. The receiving piece 34 is formed to be angled downwards, and the angle between the receiving piece 34 and the upright piece 33 is an acute angle obtained by subtracting the desired inclination angle from 90 degrees.

[0026] As described above, the support bracket 31 is made from a single metal plate, but it may also be made by joining multiple components together. Furthermore, as mentioned above, since the support bracket 31 is made from a metal plate of a certain width, it has a good yield during manufacturing and can be made compact for transportation and storage, making it easy to handle.

[0027] Such support brackets 31 are fixed to the installation surface 12 with adhesive. That is, when installing the solar panel 13, the receiving piece 34 is first fixed to the back surface of the solar panel 13, and then the grounding piece 32 is bonded and fixed to the installation surface 12 with adhesive. The receiving piece 34 is preferably fixed to the solar panel 13 when it is turned upside down, and at this time the grounding piece 32 is oriented so that it extends outward from the solar panel 13.

[0028] In the installation structure 11, a sheet-like pressing member 51 is placed on top of the grounding piece 32 of the support fitting 31 fixed to the installation surface 12, and the pressing member 51 is adhesively fixed to the installation surface 12 while pressing down on the grounding piece 32. The pressing member 51 is wider and has a larger surface area than the width of the grounding piece 32.

[0029] As described above, the retaining member 51 is in the form of a sheet, that is, a thin plate or paper, and is made of a material with sufficient strength. The material may be flexible and deformable according to the surface, or it may be rigid and not deform to conform to the surface when in contact with the installation surface.

[0030] The retaining member 51 in the illustrated example is made of a metal plate and is hard. While it is fundamentally hard, the degree of hardness varies depending on the metal material and thickness. For the metal used in the retaining member 51, an aluminum alloy is preferably used due to its weather resistance.

[0031] When forming the structure from an aluminum alloy plate, it is best to use one with a thickness of approximately 0.5 mm to 1 mm. This thickness is thinner than the thickness of the support bracket 31.

[0032] The pressing member 51 has a pressing surface portion 52 in the middle of its width direction that presses against the grounding piece 32 of the support fitting 31, and adhesive surface portions 53 on both the left and right sides of the pressing surface portion 52 that are bonded to the installation surface 12. A stepped portion 54 is formed between the pressing surface portion 52 and the adhesive surface portion 53.

[0033] Specifically, the plan view shape of the retaining member 51 is rectangular, and in this example, it is a long rectangle perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the grounding piece 32. Although the four corners are shown as right angles in the drawing, the corners may be rounded or cut off.

[0034] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the pressing surface portion 52 is formed as a narrow rectangle at the midpoint in the longitudinal direction, connecting the long sides 51a. The length of the pressing surface portion 52, that is, the length of the pressing member 51 in the short direction, corresponds to the length of the ground contact piece 32 of the support fitting 31. Figure 3(a) is a plan view of the pressing member 51, and (b) is a front view thereof.

[0035] Therefore, one of the two long sides 51a of the retaining member 51 becomes an opposing side facing the upright piece 33 or upright end 32a, and the other long side 51a becomes an opposing side facing the upright end 32a or upright piece 33. These opposing sides may or may not be in contact with the upright piece 33 or upright end 32a.

[0036] The size of the adhesive surface 53 can be set as appropriate, but a larger size is preferable. This is because a larger adhesive area allows for better stress distribution, and even if there are irregularities in the area of ​​the mounting surface 12 to which the adhesive surface 53 is bonded, the continuity of the adhesive layer is maintained, enabling more reliable and stronger bonding. Furthermore, the shape of the adhesive surface 53 is preferably close to a square with little difference between its length and width. This is because it reduces the stress required for peeling.

[0037] For example, the width of each of the pair of adhesive surfaces 53 should be set to 0.5 times or more, more preferably 1 time or more, the width of the grounding piece 32. By setting the width of one adhesive surface 53 to 0.5 times that of the grounding piece 32, the combined fixing strength of the left and right adhesive surfaces 53 is obtained to be about the same as the fixing strength of the grounding piece 32. Alternatively, by setting the width of one adhesive surface 53 to 1 time that of the grounding piece 32, the combined fixing strength of the left and right adhesive surfaces 53 is obtained to be twice that of the grounding piece 32.

[0038] The illustrated example shows a case where the width of each of the pair of adhesive surfaces 53 is set to twice, or slightly more than twice, the width of the grounding piece 32.

[0039] The stepped portion 54 is formed by an inclined surface portion 54a that slopes in the direction that the adhesive surface portion 53 opens, as shown in Figure 3(b). Both the left and right inclined surface portions 54a are straight and have the same angle of inclination, connecting the pressing surface portion 52 and the adhesive surface portion 53.

[0040] Figure 4 shows a specific configuration of the area near the stepped portion 54 and the pressing surface portion 52. The rectangle indicated by the dashed line represents the cross-sectional shape of the grounding piece 32.

[0041] The height h of the stepped portion 54, that is, the height h from the bottom surface of the adhesive surface portion 53 to the bottom surface of the pressing surface portion 52, is the same as the thickness t of the contact piece 32. Also, the width w1 of the bottom surface of the pressing surface portion 52 is slightly wider than the width w2 of the contact piece 32. This is to absorb errors. The inclination angle α of the inclined surface portion 54a with respect to the horizontal can be set to around 45 degrees, specifically in the range of about 30 to 60 degrees, but considering workability, strength and handling, it is preferable to set it to around 30 degrees.

[0042] As shown in Figures 2 and 5, the retaining member 51 is adhesively fixed to the installation surface 12 from above the grounding piece 32 of the adhesively fixed support fitting 31, completing the installation structure. In Figure 5, 71 is the adhesive layer below the grounding piece 32.

[0043] During bonding, adhesive is applied to the entire lower surface of the retaining member 51, excluding the retaining surface portion 52, and the retaining surface portion 52 is overlapped with the grounding piece 32 to bond to the installation surface 12. The adhesive may also be applied to the installation surface 12 before bonding. The specific method of bonding is appropriately selected depending on the type of adhesive. Adhesive can also be applied between the grounding piece 32 and the retaining member 51.

[0044] As the pressing member 51 is bonded, the pressing surface 52 presses against the grounding piece 32, and as shown in the cross-sectional view in Figure 5, an adhesive layer 72 is formed over a wider area than the grounding piece 32.

[0045] The retaining member 51 should ideally be fixed to all of the ground contact pieces 32 of the support brackets 31, but it may also be fixed partially depending on the site conditions, such as in areas that are particularly subjected to wind pressure or in areas where the installation surface 12 is uneven.

[0046] The retaining member 51 can also be used as reinforcement for existing installation structures.

[0047] In the installation structure 11 configured in this way, the grounding piece 32 of the support fitting 31 is adhesively fixed to the installation surface 12, and the pressing member 51 is adhesively fixed to the installation surface 12 at a position that extends wider in the width direction than the grounding piece 32. Moreover, since the pair of adhesive surfaces 53 of the pressing member 51 are more than four times the area of ​​the grounding piece 32, the adhesive area of ​​the pressing member 51 is larger than the adhesive area of ​​the grounding piece 32. For this reason, the pressing member 51 not only reinforces the adhesive state of the grounding piece 32, but also provides a strong fixing state even with the pressing member 51 alone, and enables more reliable adhesive fixing even if the installation surface 12 is partially uneven.

[0048] In this way, the support bracket 31 can be securely and firmly fixed, resulting in a robust installation of the solar panel 13.

[0049] Furthermore, the retaining member 51 fixed to the mounting surface 12 restrains the grounding piece 32 by pressing down on it with its retaining surface portion 52. Also, the inclined surface portion 54a and the hardened adhesive 72 The pressing member 51 restrains the widthwise end of the grounding piece 32. The pressing surface portion 52 of the long side 51a of the pressing member 51 faces the upright piece 33 or the upright end portion 32a, restricting relative movement. In this way, the pressing member 51 suppresses the displacement of the grounding piece 32 and reduces the generation of stress. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress the generation of tensile, shear, cracking, and peeling stresses in the adhesive layer 71 beneath the grounding piece 32.

[0050] Furthermore, since the retaining member 51 covers the grounding piece 32, it can protect the grounding piece 32 and the adhesive layer 71 beneath it. In particular, since the retaining member 51 is made of aluminum alloy, it has good weather resistance, and from these points of view as well, it has a high protective function and can maintain the adhesive state of the grounding piece 32.

[0051] Furthermore, the retaining member 51 is in sheet form, can be manufactured to be lightweight, and is easy to handle even when many are used. As mentioned above, the shape of the retaining member 51 is such that the stepped portion 54 is composed of an inclined surface portion 54a, so even when the retaining members 51 are stacked on top of each other, the bulk can be kept low. For this reason, it is easy to carry and is fixed by adhesive, so the work is easier than when carrying heavy objects, and the workability for installation is good. In addition, the retaining member 51 has a rectangular shape in plan view, so it can be manufactured with good yield.

[0052] Since the retaining member 51 is provided separately from the support bracket 31, unlike the support bracket 31 which has a large ground contact piece 32, it is possible to improve the installation strength while taking advantage of the support bracket 31.

[0053] In addition, unlike cases where weights such as curbs are used for fixing (see Figure 6; 15 in the figure is a weight), the weight required for installing the solar panels 13 can be reduced. This makes it possible to install them on buildings where installation was previously impossible, contributing to the spread of solar power generation.

[0054] The above configuration is one embodiment for carrying out this invention, and this invention is not limited to the above configuration; other configurations can be adopted.

[0055] For example, the retaining member 51 can be manufactured from materials other than metal plates, such as synthetic resin or fiber sheets.

[0056] The plan view shape of the retaining member 51 may not be rectangular, but rather a shape having a recess that fits into the upright piece 33, for example.

[0057] The stepped portion 54 of the pressing member 51 can be omitted depending on the properties of the pressing member 51, such as its hardness.

[0058] Furthermore, the stepped portion 54 may have a buffer portion 55 that forms a curve in its cross-sectional shape, as shown in Figure 7.

[0059] In other words, the stepped portion 54 shown in Figure 7(a) has a buffer portion 55a that is convex downwards in the shape of an arc. The stepped portion 54 shown in Figure 7(b) is formed by continuously creating an upper buffer portion 55b that is convex upwards in the shape of an arc and a lower buffer portion 55c that is convex downwards in the shape of an arc. The stepped portion 54 shown in Figure 7(c) is formed by continuously creating an upper buffer portion 55b that is convex upwards in the shape of an arc and a lower buffer portion 55d that is made of an inclined surface.

[0060] Each of the stepped sections 54 can be configured to be more easily displaced relative to the inclined surface section 54a described above, and can flexibly respond to the condition of the installation surface 12 and the dimensional difference between the retaining member 51 and the support fitting 31, thereby achieving a desired good fixing state. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0061] 11…Solar panel installation structure 12…Installation surface 13…Solar panels 31…Support bracket 32...Grounding piece 32a...Rising end 33…Standing piece 34... Receiving piece 51…Retaining member 52...Pressing surface 53…Adhesive surface part 54... Stepped section 54a...Slope section 55...Buffer section

Claims

[Claim 1] A solar panel installation structure is provided, which is made of a plate material and has, in order from one end in the longitudinal direction, a grounding piece that contacts the installation surface, an upright piece that rises from the grounding piece, and a receiving piece that extends from the upper end of the upright piece to receive the solar panel, and is used to install a solar panel using a support bracket, A pressing member is provided, which is made of a metal plate thinner than the thickness of the support bracket and is in the shape of a sheet wider than the width of the grounding piece. The pressing member has a pressing surface portion in the middle of its width direction that presses down on the grounding piece, adhesive surfaces on both the left and right sides of the pressing surface portion that are adhered to the installation surface, and a stepped portion between the pressing surface portion and the adhesive surface portion, wherein the height of the stepped portion is the same as the thickness of the grounding piece, and the stepped portion is formed by an inclined surface portion that widens the distance between them as it goes downwards. The grounding piece of the support bracket is fixed to the mounting surface using adhesive, With the pressing surface of the pressing member pressing down on the grounding piece, the adhesive surface and the inclined surface are bonded and fixed to the installation surface using an adhesive. The inclined surface portion and the hardened adhesive bonding the inclined surface portion restrain the end of the grounding piece in the width direction, and the relative movement of the opposing sides at both ends of the pressing surface portion of the pressing member in the direction corresponding to the longitudinal direction of the grounding piece is restricted by the upright end portion formed on the longitudinal end of the grounding piece of the support fitting opposite to the upright piece and the upright piece of the support fitting. Solar panel installation structure.

Images