Solar panel mount
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation of solar panels on roofs with slate tiles is challenging due to the need to remove tiles for mounting, which is costly and labor-intensive, and existing solutions lack structural durability and cost-effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A solar panel mount comprising a bracket plate with flanges and a ridge, attached to a base plate, providing increased strength and structural integrity, allowing direct mounting to the roof without disturbing slate tiles, and featuring a monolithic integrated structure for cost-efficient manufacturing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If solar panels are mounted directly to the roof by removing slate tiles, then the solar panel can be securely attached to the roof structure, but the roofing material is disturbed and replacement is difficult and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mounting system consisting of a base plate and bracket plate assembly that attaches to the roof structure without removing slate tiles. The base plate penetrates the roof deck at strategic points while the bracket plate provides a mounting surface for solar panels, serving as a mediator between the solar panel and roof structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting system is divided into separate components: a base plate that attaches to the roof structure and a bracket plate that mounts the solar panel. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates easier installation and adjustment.
2Ease of manufacture
If a simple mounting structure is used to reduce manufacturing cost, then production expenses decrease, but structural durability and strength are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The base plate and bracket plate are combined into a single integrated mounting assembly that can be manufactured as one piece or pre-assembled unit. This merging reduces the number of separate components, simplifies manufacturing processes, and ensures structural integrity through unified construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent specifies optimal dimensional parameters for the mounting plates, including thickness, flange dimensions, and hole placements, to achieve the required structural strength while minimizing material usage and manufacturing cost.
Data Source
AI summary
A solar panel mount for installing a solar panel on a roof. The mount generally includes a bracket plate a first surface, a top edge, a bottom edge, two opposite side edges flanking the first surface, wherein at least a portion of one of side edges is in the form of a flange transverse to the first surface; and a base plate attached to the bottom edge of the bracket plate.