Solar Table Rack with Cantilevered Offloading for Batch Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation of large-scale solar panel systems is cost-prohibitive due to the complexity and inefficiency of individually assembling and installing thousands of solar panels across a multi-acre terrain, which requires significant materials, labor, and inconsistent delivery and installation processes.
Innovation Solution
A centralized assembly and installation process using a solar table rack that allows preassembled solar tables to be stacked and transported efficiently, utilizing a mobile transport vehicle to align and install them at designated points, reducing the need for on-site assembly and enhancing alignment capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If individual assembly and installation of solar panels is performed at each location, then installation flexibility is maintained, but installation cost and time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Solar tables are pre-assembled off-site at a centralized facility before being transported to the installation location. This preliminary assembly action reduces on-site installation time and labor requirements while maintaining the ability to install at multiple locations, thus resolving the contradiction between installation flexibility and installation efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The solar array is divided into modular solar tables that can be independently assembled, transported, and installed. This segmentation allows for efficient batch production and transportation while maintaining installation flexibility at the deployment site, addressing both productivity and ease of operation
2Ease of manufacture
If materials are delivered to deployment site via access road and staged by crew, then material delivery is simplified, but labor requirements and installation cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple solar tables are combined into a single rack structure that can be transported together as one unit. This merging reduces the number of separate deliveries and staging operations needed, simplifying the overall material delivery process while reducing installation process complexity through coordinated transportation
3Productivity
If preassembled solar tables are transported and stacked on rack, then transportation efficiency improves, but rack design complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rack is designed with universal features that allow it to perform multiple functions: transporting solar tables, stacking multiple tables vertically, and facilitating easy loading/unloading at the destination. This multi-functionality achieves high transportation efficiency without requiring excessively complex rack structures
Solution Approach 2:
Solar tables are arranged vertically on the rack, utilizing the vertical dimension for stacking multiple tables in a compact configuration. This dimensional change improves transportation efficiency by maximizing space utilization while keeping the rack structure manageable in size
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of a rack stack capable of holding multiple solar tables are described. The rack stack comprises one or more stackable solar table racks, with each solar table rack capable of holding more than one solar table. Each solar table may be supported by a pair of cantilevered beams such that the solar table may be unloaded from the rack in an unobstructed manner. The rack stack may be formed in a centralized factory and transported by a transportation vehicle, e.g., a mobile transport vehicle, a trailer, or a flatbed truck, to an offloading location near installation points of the solar tables. Solar tables in the rack stack may be fetched by a placer vehicle or a forklift via an end effector for installation. The ability of stacking multiple solar tables onto the rack stack improves solar table installation efficiency, especially for large solar farm constructions.