Portable system for mounting a solar panel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solar panel mounting systems are often complex, require skilled labor, and involve permanent installations, making them costly and inflexible for deployment on various surfaces like ground-level and flat or low-sloped roofs.
Innovation Solution
A portable solar panel mounting system with a modular, lightweight chassis that can be easily assembled and disassembled, featuring a connector module for linear arrays and direct-power modules for immediate energy use, allowing for temporary, mobile, or permanent installations without permanent structural alterations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing solar panel mounting systems are used, then reliable solar energy harvesting is achieved, but installation complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is divided into modular components including a base unit with ballast, a panel support structure, and connection mechanisms. Each module can be independently assembled and configured, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliability through standardized interfaces and proven sub-assemblies.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs adjustable and reconfigurable mounting elements that can be dynamically positioned and secured. The panel support structure includes adjustable arms and configurable connection points that adapt to different panel sizes and installation requirements, simplifying the installation process while ensuring reliable mounting.
2Reliability
If skilled labor is used for installation, then proper solar panel mounting is achieved, but installation cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is pre-assembled and pre-configured during manufacturing with standardized components and pre-positioned mounting elements. The base units come pre-filled with ballast material and pre-assembled with connection mechanisms, allowing for quick on-site installation by non-specialized labor while maintaining high mounting quality through factory-prepared configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates self-aligning and self-securing features where components automatically position themselves during installation. The panel support structure includes built-in alignment guides and snap-fit connections that ensure proper mounting without requiring skilled alignment or specialized installation techniques, reducing labor costs while maintaining reliability.
3Stability of the object's composition
If permanent installation is used, then structural stability is achieved, but flexibility and portability decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system uses reversible connection mechanisms and adjustable support structures that provide stable mounting when installed but can be easily reconfigured or removed. The panel support includes adjustable arms with secureable positions that maintain stability during operation but allow for simple repositioning or dismantling, enabling both permanent and temporary installation scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The base units incorporate removable ballast that provides structural stability during installation and operation but can be easily removed for relocation. The ballast acts as a counterweight to stabilize the mounting structure on various surfaces, yet its removability allows the entire system to be portable and adaptable to different locations without permanent structural alterations.
4Ease of operation
If modular chassis design is used, then portability and ease of deployment are improved, but structural strength may decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The modular chassis components are designed with integrated connection features that merge multiple structural functions into single elements. The connection mechanisms combine mechanical joining, structural reinforcement, and alignment functions in one component, ensuring that the assembled modular structure achieves strength comparable to monolithic designs while maintaining portability and ease of deployment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system reduces installation costs and time, provides a secure, self-contained solar energy unit that inhibits theft and tampering, and supports modular deployment across multiple properties, enabling efficient energy harvesting from incident sunlight.
Implementation Method 1
A portable system for mounting a solar panel for harvesting energy from incident sunlight
Data Source
AI summary
A portable system for mounting a solar panel includes a modular base defining a set of interconnecting components that assemble via a set of intra-assembly features into a portable base for a solar panel. The modular base includes lower and upper relief to provide passive ventilation to the interior of the modular base and recesses to accommodate a user's appendages during assembly, and ballast volumes to retain a non-rigid ballast to weight the module base holding it in place. The modular base includes adjustable panel retention structures to constrain solar panels of a range of dimensions and configured to carry moisture away from the solar panel. The modular base includes a set of latches and corresponding latch receivers to fix adjacent modular bases together at a fixed distance less than the width of a human hand to form an array.