Modular paving for a pier with walkable photovoltaic elements

Abstract

A modular flooring (2) for a pier (1) comprising a plurality of photovoltaic boards (3) each of which comprises a photovoltaic panel (7), at least one pair of heat sinks (9) and a walkable covering layer (8) arranged to cover the photovoltaic panel (7). Each of the heat sinks (9) comprises a rest portion (10) defining the rest surface (11) arranged in contact with a bottom wall of the photovoltaic panel (7) and a lateral portion (12) extending from the rest portion (10) and arranged in contact with a lateral wall of the photovoltaic panel (7). Each of the boards also comprises a pair of end closure plates (15) each of which is fixed to two longitudinal ends of the two respective heat sinks (9) that support a same photovoltaic panel to bind them together and comprises an upper clamping portion (15a) arranged in abutment on a respective longitudinal end of the walkable covering layer (8) to lock it on the photovoltaic panel (7).

Description

[0001] "MODULAR FLOORING FOR A PIER WITH WALKABLE PHOTOVOLTAIC ELEMENTS"

[0002] Cross-Reference to Related Applications This Patent Application claims priority from Italian Patent Application No . 102025000003192 filed on February 19, 2025, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference .

[0003] Technical Field

[0004] The present invention relates to a flooring for piers which is made with walkable photovoltaic elements . The invention also relates to a pier made with the aforementioned flooring. In this way, it will be possible to transform ports and marinas into environmental sustainability hubs .

[0005] State of the Art

[0006] For years, the need to have sustainable energy solutions in order to optimize existing infrastructure in an environmental sustainability perspective has been particularly felt in the port sector .

[0007] To date, the various solutions capable of guaranteeing the supply of renewable energy in port environments have always faced problems of an aesthetic and space encumbrance nature .

[0008] In this regard, it should be considered that port environments, particularly small and medium-sized privatemarinas, have long been required to meet aesthetic and pleasantness requirements so that they can be appreciated and, therefore, chosen by customers, who in this sector are particularly sensitive to the aesthetic solutions that the port structure is able to offer . In addition, small and medium-sized ports and marinas not only play the role of parking or storage of pleasure boats, but they also constitute real "residential" places .

[0009] Therefore, particularly in private ports, a need is felt to have technical solutions that can guarantee respect for environmental sustainability, without thereby compromising the efficiency and aesthetics of the port itself . In fact, nowadays, both environmental sustainability and aesthetics constitute important added values in the evaluation and, therefore, in the choice of a port by customers .

[0010] The inventors of the present invention have created a technical solution for ports, especially for small and medium-sized private ports, capable of guaranteeing the production of energy from renewable sources, thus meeting the needs of environmental sustainability without thereby affecting the spaces and the aesthetics of the port as a whole . In particular, the present invention is based on the possibility of achieving the walkability of the photovoltaic boards .Description of the Invention

[0011] The obj ect of the present invention is a photovoltaic board of a modular flooring for a pier; said photovoltaic board comprising a photovoltaic panel, a pair of heat sinks and a walkable covering layer arranged to cover the photovoltaic panel; each of said heat sinks comprising a rest portion defining a rest surface arranged in contact with a bottom wall of the photovoltaic panel and a lateral portion extending from said rest portion and arranged in contact with a lateral wall of said photovoltaic panel; said rest portion and said lateral portion comprising a plurality of cooling fins extending on the opposite side with respect to said photovoltaic panel; each of said heat sinks comprising a locking rib extending from a lower end of said lateral portion on the opposite side with respect to said photovoltaic panel and adapted to be fixed to a support structure of said pier; said rest portion of each of said heat sinks having a transverse extension less than the transverse extension of said photovoltaic panel so that a central portion of said bottom wall of the photovoltaic panel does not rest on said rest surfaces of said heat sinks; said module comprising a pair of end closure plates each of which is fixed to two longitudinal ends of the two respective heat sinks to bind them together and comprises an upper clamping portion arranged in abutment on a respective longitudinalend of the walkable cover to lock it on the photovoltaic panel .

[0012] In this document the spatial references, such as for example "upper", "lower", "vertical" and "horizontal", refer to the components of the pier in its position of use as shown in the attached figures .

[0013] As will be described below, the locking ribs, in addition to ensuring the locking of the module to the support structure of the pier, also ensure the spacing between two consecutive photovoltaic boards and, therefore, between two portions of the pier walkway. In this way, the drainage of water which, necessarily, is deposited on the walkable surface of the pier, is guaranteed.

[0014] Preferably, each of the photovoltaic boards comprises a central heat sink arranged in contact with said central portion of said bottom wall of the photovoltaic panel .

[0015] Preferably, the central heat sink has two lateral edges each of which is arranged to engage an edge of a rest portion of a respective heat sink.

[0016] Preferably, the walkable covering layer is made of tempered glass or polycarbonate .

[0017] Preferably, in each of the heat sinks the lateralportion extends orthogonally from said rest surface of said rest portion.

[0018] A further obj ect of the present invention is a modular flooring for a pier characterized in that it comprises a plurality of photovoltaic boards according to the present invention .

[0019] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] An illustrative and non-limiting embodiment example of the pier according to the present invention is described below with the aid of the attached figures, wherein:

[0021] - Figure 1 is an assembly view of the flooring of a pier according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] - Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a detail with parts removed for clarity of the flooring of Figure 1.

[0023] Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

[0024] In Figure 1, 1 denotes as a whole a pier according to the present invention .

[0025] The pier 1 comprises a walkable flooring 2 consisting of a plurality of photovoltaic boards 3 arranged side by side and each of which has a rectangular shape .

[0026] As is evident from Figure 2, the pier 1 comprises a support structure 4, composed of a combination of beams 5 and crossbeams 6, and a plurality of photovoltaic boards 3 coupled to the support structure 4 .Each of the photovoltaic boards 3 comprises a photovoltaic panel 7 covered by the walkable covering layer 8 and a pair of heat sinks 9, which have the function of dissipating the heat of the photovoltaic panels 7, thus allowing the walkability of the walkable covering layer 8 and, above all, to guarantee the efficiency of the photovoltaic panel 7. In fact, as is known, once the photovoltaic panel overheats, there is necessarily a significant loss in terms of efficiency.

[0027] Preferably, the walkable covering layer 8 is made of tempered glass or polycarbonate or materials with similar characteristics, which allow to combine an excellent resistance to bending with the creation of non-slip textures compliant with current regulations .

[0028] In particular, as will be described below, the walkable covering layer 8, as well as the other elements of the photovoltaic board 3, is separable from the other components to allow its autonomous maintenance or replacement without having to compromise the functionality of the other elements of the photovoltaic board 3.

[0029] The heat sinks 9 are made of galvanised 6063 aluminium to increase their load capacity.

[0030] In general, the aluminium alloys of the 5xxx (Al-Mg)and 6xxx (Al-Mg-Si) series, already widely used in accessories and lightweight structures used in the marine environment, where good corrosion resistance and good machinability of the parts are required, were taken into account for the heat sinks .

[0031] Each of the heat sinks 9 comprises a rest portion 10 having a rest surface 11, on which a bottom wall of a photovoltaic panel 7 rests, and a lateral portion 12 fixed to a lateral edge of the rest portion 10 and arranged in contact with a lateral wall of the photovoltaic panel 7. The lateral portion 12 is arranged in an orthogonal position with respect to the rest surface 11.

[0032] Both the rest portion 10 and the lateral portion 12 comprise a respective plurality of cooling fins 13, which develop on the opposite side with respect to the photovoltaic panel 7 .

[0033] As shown in Figure 2, each photovoltaic panel 7 is supported by a pair of heat sinks 9, each of which is arranged with its own lateral portion 12 in contact with a respective lateral wall of the photovoltaic panel 7.

[0034] The photovoltaic panel 7 has a bottom wall resting on the rest surface 11 of the heat sink 9 and a lateral wall in contact with the lateral portion 12. Such an arrangement allows the heat sink 9 to ensure that the photovoltaic panel 7 undergoes a cooling action such as to prevent efficiencylosses thereof, as well as to guarantee the walkability of the relative walkable covering layer 8.

[0035] In this regard, it should be considered that, thanks to their shape, the heat sinks 9 also perform a protective function towards the photovoltaic panel 7 they support . In fact, the cooling fins 13 that are present on the lateral portion 12 of the heat sink 9 allow the photovoltaic panel 7 to be protected from lateral impacts caused by the passage of trolleys and port equipment . In this way, the durability of the photovoltaic panel as a whole is increased despite the fact that it is part of a flooring that, necessarily, is subj ected to continuous stresses .

[0036] As clearly shown in Figure 2, the photovoltaic panel 7 does not fully rest on the heat sinks 9. In fact, each of the rest surfaces 11 has a transverse extension less than half of the transverse extension of the bottom wall of the photovoltaic panel 7. In this way, the bottom wall of the panel will have a central longitudinal portion that does not rest on the rest surfaces 11 of the heat sinks 9.

[0037] The fact that the same photovoltaic panel 7 is supported by a pair of heat sinks 9 as described above, allows them to be compatible with photovoltaic panels of different widths with advantages in terms of cost reduction and modularitythat this entails .

[0038] Preferably, the photovoltaic board 3 comprises a central heat sink 9a arranged in contact with the central portion of the bottom wall of the photovoltaic panel 7 as described above .

[0039] The central heat sink 9a extends between the rest portions 10 of two respective heat sinks 9. In particular, each of the central heat sinks 9a has the two lateral edges arranged to engage two respective tracks, each of which is obtained on the free edge of the rest portion 10 of the heat sink 9.

[0040] The function of the central heat sink 9a is to further prevent overheating of the photovoltaic panel 7 and, consequently, its loss of efficiency.

[0041] Each of the heat sinks 9 comprises a locking rib 14 extending horizontally from a lower edge of the lateral portion 12. The locking rib 14 allows a quick and easy locking of the heat sink and, therefore, of the entire photovoltaic board 3, to the beams 5 of the support structure 4. In fact, a screw element fixed by means of the shank to the beam 5 will have its own head arranged so as to clamp the locking rib 14. In addition to the locking function, the locking ribs 14 also have the function of ensuring a spacingof the photovoltaic boards 3 ensuring that water, which necessarily deposits on the walkable surface 2 of the pier 1, can drain down through the openings between two consecutive photovoltaic boards 3.

[0042] Each of the photovoltaic boards 3 comprises a pair of end closure plates 15, each of which is fixed to cover the longitudinal ends of the photovoltaic panel 7 and the relative pair of heat sinks 9 that support it . Each of the end closure plates 15 is fixed to the pair of heat sinks 9 by means of a reversible fixing system, such as for example a screw / lead screw coupling.

[0043] Each of the end closure plates 15 comprises an upper clamping portion 15a arranged in abutment on one end of the walkable covering layer 8 to lock the same on the photovoltaic panel 7 .

[0044] The role of the end closure plates 15 is to bind the elements of the photovoltaic board 3 to each other, making it an integral assembly.

[0045] For the disassembly of the photovoltaic board 3 it will be sufficient to remove the end closure plates 15 which, as mentioned above, keep the different elements bound to each other .

[0046] In this way, it will be possible to replace or do maintenance on a single element of the photovoltaic boardwithout thereby compromising the functionality of the other pre-existing elements . It will be possible, for example, to replace only the walkable covering layer 8 while maintaining the use of the photovoltaic panel 7 and the heat sinks 9 and 9a .

[0047] As can be seen from the description above, the present invention offers the advantage of making renewable energy available to a marine environment such as the port without thereby changing the aesthetic structure of the port itself . In fact, the invention makes it possible to replace the classic teak boards on the piers with photovoltaic boards . This is possible because the photovoltaic boards have been made walkable and safe from a resistance point of view.

[0048] The heart of the technical solution subj ect matter of the present invention lies in the particular type of heat sinks used. In fact, in the flooring subj ect matter of the present invention, the heat sinks not only play the role of cooling, but are able to easily and, therefore, quickly fix the flooring as a whole to the structure of the pier; to protect the photovoltaic panel from the stresses to which the flooring of a pier is normally subj ected; to be able to use photovoltaic panels of different widths without involving modifications or replacements of the heat sinksthemselves .

[0049] Finally, for a correct evaluation of the present invention, both the ease of disassembly, which allows easy disposal or repair, and the effective traceability and, therefore, the easy management of the life cycles of each component must be considered. These advantages ensure longevity and sustainability of the pier as a whole while reducing the environmental impact . In fact, the flooring according to the present invention allows the independent replacement of its various components, allowing on-site repair interventions without sending the components themselves to the parent company and reducing costs, downtime and waste thanks to the selective replacement of only the damaged elements .

Claims

CLAIMS1 . Photovoltaic board ( 3 ) of a modular flooring ( 2 ) for a pier ( 1 ) ; said photovoltaic board comprising a photovoltaic panel ( 7 ) , a pair of heat sinks ( 9 ) and a walkable covering layer ( 8 ) arranged to cover the photovoltaic panel ( 7 ) ; each of said heat sinks ( 9 ) comprising a rest portion ( 10 ) defining a rest surface ( 11 ) arranged in contact with a bottom wall of the photovoltaic panel ( 7 ) and a lateral portion ( 12 ) extending from said rest portion ( 10 ) and arranged in contact with a lateral wall of said photovoltaic panel ( 7 ) ; said rest portion ( 10 ) and said lateral portion ( 12 ) comprising a plurality of cooling fins ( 13 ) extending on the opposite s ide with respect to said photovoltaic panel ( 7 ) ; each of said heat sinks ( 9 ) comprising a locking rib ( 14 ) extending from a lower end of said lateral portion ( 12 ) on the opposite s ide with respect to said photovoltaic panel ( 7 ) and adapted to be fixed to a support structure ( 4 ) of said pier ( 1 ) ; said rest portion ( 10 ) of each of said heat sinks ( 9 ) having a transverse extension less than the transverse extension of said photovoltaic panel ( 9 ) so that a central portion of said bottom wall of the photovoltaic panel ( 7 ) does not rest on said rest surfaces ( 11 ) of said heat sinks ( 9 ) ; said module comprising a pair of end closure plates ( 15 ) each of which is fixed to two longitudinal ends of the two respective heat sinks ( 9 ) to bind them togetherand comprises an upper clamping portion ( 15a) arranged in abutment on a respective longitudinal end of the walkable cover ( 8 ) to lock it on the photovoltaic panel (7 ) .

2. Photovoltaic board according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a central heat sink ( 9a) arranged in contact with said central portion of said bottom wall of the photovoltaic panel (7 ) .

3. Photovoltaic board according to claim 2, characterized in that said central heat sink ( 9a) has two lateral edges each of which is arranged to engage an edge of a rest portion ( 10) of a respective heat sink ( 9) .

4. Photovoltaic board according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that the walkable covering layer ( 8 ) is made of tempered glass or polycarbonate .

5. Photovoltaic board according to one of the previous claims, characterized in that said lateral portion ( 12 ) extends orthogonally from said rest surface ( 11 ) of said rest portion ( 10) .

6. Modular flooring (2 ) for a pier ( 1 ) characterized in that it comprises a plurality of photovoltaic boards (3) according to one of the previous claims .

Images