CN1723371A - Solar Panel Support System - Google Patents

Abstract

A support system for a solar panel (1), comprising at least one support member (2) defining an undercut cavity (6) above a cross-section with a narrowing opening (7), and at least one fixing device (3), It comprises a screw (10), a nut plate (14) interacting with the threads of the screw (10), and a caliper plate (15), whereby the nut plate (14) can pass through an opening ( 7) Insert, and then rotate the nut plate, it can be hooked into the undercut cavity (6), the caliper plate (15) can be placed on the side of the panel (1) facing away from the supporting part (2), and the panel (1) is fastened by The screw device (10) can be firmly clamped on the supporting part (2). The fixing device (3) includes an auxiliary support (22) pushed onto the screw device (10) and located between the nut plate (14) and the clamp plate (15), this auxiliary support (22) can be fastened to the support part .

Description

Solar Panel Support System

technical field

The invention relates to a support system for a panel, such as a solar panel, comprising at least one support member for supporting a solar panel, the support member defining in cross-section an undercut cavity opening into an opening delimited by two longitudinal edges, and There is at least one fixing means for fixing the solar panel to the support member, the fixing means comprising a screw, such as a bolt, a nut plate interacting with the threads of the screw, and a caliper pushed onto the body of the screw of the screw plate, so that the nut plate can be inserted through the opening in the support part, and then by rotation, it can be hooked into the undercut cavity, the caliper plate can be placed on the side of the panel 1 facing away from the support part, and can be tightened by the screw device Snap the panel firmly onto the support.

Background technique

A bracing system of this type is disclosed in EP 905 795. With this support system, for example, photovoltaic solar cells can be installed on roofs. In order to obtain the highest possible output, the roof should preferably be sloped and oriented towards the sun.

When installing the support system, the required number of support members, usually two per row of panels, are first installed on the roof. Then, the fixtures located in the highest part of the roof are fastened, after which the connecting panels are fixed. The next row of fixtures must be fitted with the panel below it so that every two adjacent panels can be clamped by tightening the middle fixture.

Fastening of the fixture is achieved by turning the nut plate and tightening the bolts. Because the panels must remain in the correct position at the same time, it usually takes two people to do it. One person supports the panel in the desired position and the other supports and secures the fixtures.

Such procedures are laborious and labor intensive. The installation costs are therefore relatively high. It is an object of the present invention to provide a support system with which panels can be efficiently installed by one person. In order to achieve said object, a fixing device is provided comprising an auxiliary support pushed onto the bolt and positioned between the nut plate and the caliper plate, which auxiliary support can be fixed to the support member.

Contents of the invention

When mounting the panels by means of the support system of the invention, the fixing means may be previously temporarily fixed to the support members. However, at this stage, the fixtures have not been installed precisely in the correct position. They can still slide easily along the support member, especially if the auxiliary supports can be fastened to the support member by snap-fit connections and/or can be snapped between mutually facing sides of the longitudinal edges of the support member time.

A fixture temporarily installed in this manner remains in its original position until the panel is installed in place. This can be performed by a person who is able to slide the fixture from a temporary position to a defined position and install it in place. Installation of the panel is now complete.

Temporary installation of fixtures can be achieved in various ways. According to a simple embodiment, the longitudinal edge of the support part and the opposite edge of the auxiliary support have certain ridges and grooves in order to obtain a snap fit effect. In particular, the auxiliary support may have first protrusions on opposite sides, while the longitudinal edge of the support member has an outwardly facing support surface which supports the first protrusions when the auxiliary support has been snap-fitted to the support member. However a fixed installation allowing sliding can be obtained if the support part has ridges on the sides where the longitudinal edges face each other and the auxiliary support has a second protrusion which can be snap-fitted under said ridges. secure installation.

The auxiliary support has a support foot fixable to the support member and a guide rail upright relative to the support foot, and the bolt is longitudinally slidable relative to the guide rail. Preferably, there is a pretensioned spring between the bolt head and the guide rail, so that the nut plate screwed onto the bolt bears against the side of the support foot facing away from the guide rail under pretension. Thus, the bolt and nut plates have a clearly defined position before assembly takes place, which makes it easy to place the fixture on the support part. In this context, it is advantageous if the support foot has a diametrically opposite main stop on the side of the nut plate which determines the position in which the nut plate can be inserted into the opening of the support part.

After the fixture has been placed on the support member, the nut plate must be turned so that it can be hooked behind the portion defining the opening in the support member. For this purpose, the support foot has a secondary stop diametrically opposite the side of the nut plate, so that the nut plate can enter a position between the main stop and the secondary stop, and the height of the secondary stop relative to the support foot Here's the thing: After the bolt has been removed against the spring pretension, the nut plate can be rotated past this secondary stop. The position at which it is rotated in this way is 90 degrees from the position at which the nut plate is inserted into the support member, and the nut plate is again in contact with the primary and secondary stops.

The caliper plate is preferably formed as a part having a hole for the shaft of the bolt to pass through, and two arms extending along the guide rail and contacting a planar portion of the guide rail. The nut plate can also be constructed as a part having a hole for the bolt shaft to pass through and a chamber housing the individual nut so that it cannot rotate.

The invention also relates to a fixation device for use with the support system described above. These fixtures consist of a bolt, a nut plate that interacts with the threads of the bolt, and a caliper plate that is pushed onto the body of the bolt. According to the invention, there is provided an auxiliary support pushed onto the bolt and located between the nut plate and the caliper plate.

In addition, the invention relates to a support member for use with a support system defining in cross-section an undercut cavity having a narrow opening delimited by two longitudinal edges. According to the invention, there are ridges on both sides of the longitudinal edges facing each other.

Description of drawings

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a support system and panels according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the support system of Figure 1 .

Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a support part of the support system.

Figure 4 shows the fixture in its disassembled state.

Figure 5 shows the fixture in the assembled state.

Detailed ways

A support system for a panel 1 , such as a solar panel, as shown in FIG. 1 firstly comprises several support members 2 , only one of which can be seen in FIG. 1 . The supporting system also comprises fixing means 3 by means of which the panel 1 is clamped on the supporting part 2 . As shown in FIG. 3 , the supporting member 2 has a base 4 and a standing wall 5 . The base 4 and the vertical wall 5 delimit an undercut cavity 6 which opens through an opening 7 of elongate shape. The elongate shaped opening 7 is bounded on both sides by longitudinal edges 8 each having an inwardly extending ridge 9 .

The fixing device 3 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 comprises a bolt 10 having a threaded portion 11 , a shaft 12 and a bolt head 13 . The nut plate 14 and the caliper plate 15 are also part of the fixing device 3 . A nut plate 14 and a caliper plate 15 are provided as parts each having two wings 16 and two flanges 17 with inwardly protruding ridges 18 . The caliper plate 16 is machined with a light hole 19 so that the caliper plate can slide freely over the shaft 12 of the bolt 10 . The hole 20 in the nut plate is also a light hole; as shown in FIG.

According to the invention, the fastening device 3 has an auxiliary support indicated generally by reference numeral 22 . The auxiliary support 22 sequentially includes a support foot 23 and a sleeve-shaped guide rail 24 through which the bolt 10 is installed and allowed to slide. The sleeve-shaped rail 24 includes a sleeve 25 bearing against the top of the sleeve with a spring 26 which in turn presses against the inwardly extending ridge 18 of the flange 17 on the caliper plate 15 .

Furthermore, the rail 24 has two protrusions 27 around which the inwardly extending ridges 18 of the flange 17 can slide in a tight-fitting manner, as shown in FIG. 5 .

The supporting foot 23 has four first protrusions 28 and two second protrusions 29 located below the first protrusions and slightly chamfered towards the bottom. When the fixing device 3 is mounted on the support part 2 , the second protrusion 29 snaps behind the spine 9 of the longitudinal edge 8 such that the first protrusion 28 abuts against the outwardly facing support surface 30 of the longitudinal edge 8 . In this way, a temporary clamping of the fastening device 3 on the support part 2 is achieved. The fixing device 3 therefore does not have to be held in the hand, with the result that the person who is installing the panel is thus able to position the panel 1 on the support member 2 . Fixing means 3 can then be slid into the desired position, such that one of the wings 16 of the clamp plate reaches a position above the panel 1 .

When the fixing device 3 is placed on the support part 2, the nut plate 14 is in the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . In this position, the nut plate 14 is received within the undercut cavity 6 by the longitudinal edge 8 and the ridge 9 . In order to fix the fastening device 3 on the support part 2, the nut plate 14 is rotated through 90° so that its wings 16 reach a position below the part 31 of the support part 2 connected to the longitudinal edge 8.

The nut plate 14 can be easily rotated through 90 degrees as follows. Firstly, for this purpose, the support foot 23 has a diametrically opposite primary stop 32 . These primary stops determine a position of the nut plate 14 in which the nut plate 14 can be placed into the undercut cavity. The support foot 23 also has two secondary stops 33 which are likewise diametrically opposite at the other corners of the support foot 23 . These secondary stoppers 33 are smaller in size than the primary stoppers 32 .

To this end, moving the nut plate 14 downward relative to the support foot 23 , which can be achieved by compressing the bolt 10 downward against the force exerted by the spring 26 , the caliper plate 14 moves past the secondary stop 33 . In this position, the caliper plate 14 can be rotated into the position shown in FIG. 3 , which is located between the primary stop 32 and the secondary stop 33 . In this way, the wings 16 of the caliper plate can then be securely clamped on the surface 31 by means of the fastening bolts 10 . Furthermore, the wings 16 of the caliper plate are pressed against the panel 1, after which the installation is complete.

It is to be noted that in the situation shown in FIGS. 1-3 the fixing means 3 are shown at the rear end of a row of panels 1 . One of the wings 16 is thus supported by the support bolt 34 , which ensures good contact pressure on the adjacent panel 1 . As a supplementary feature, a trim strip 35 snaps under the associated flange 16 of the caliper plate 15 and above the bolt head of the bolt 34 .

Furthermore, the fastening device 3 can of course be used between two panels 1 , in which case the two wings 16 of the clamp plate 15 are each supported on the respective panel 1 .

Claims (15)

1. A support system for a panel (1), such as a solar panel, comprising at least one support member (2) for supporting a solar panel, the support member (2) defining in cross-section a (8) The undercut cavity (6) delimiting the narrowing opening (7) and, among other things, at least one fixing device (3) for fixing the solar panel (1) to the supporting part (2) , this fixing device (3) comprises a screw device such as a bolt (10), a nut plate (14) interacting with the screw thread (11) of the screw device (10), and a screw rod (12) pushed to the screw device (10) caliper plate (15) on the top, so that the nut plate (14) can be inserted through the opening (7) in the support member (2), then rotate the nut plate so that the nut plate hooks into the undercut cavity (6), the caliper plate (15) can be placed on the side of the panel (1) away from the support component (2), the panel (1) can be firmly clamped on the support component (2) by fastening the screw device (10), it is characterized in that, The fixing device (3) includes an auxiliary support (22), which is pushed onto the screw device (10) and is located between the nut plate (14) and the clamp plate (15), this auxiliary support (22) can be fixed to the support part (2). 2. Support system according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary support (22) is fixable to the support part (2) by means of a snap fit connection. 3. Support system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the auxiliary support (22) is clampable between two opposite sides of the longitudinal edge (8) of the support part (2). 4. Support system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the longitudinal edge (8) of the support part (2) and the opposite edge of the auxiliary support (22) have bulges (9, 28, 29) and/or notches , to obtain the effect of snap-button installation. 5. The support system according to claim 4, wherein the auxiliary support (22) has first protrusions (28) on two opposite sides, and the two longitudinal edges (8) of the support member (2) have outwardly facing support surfaces ( 30), this support surface (30) supports the first protrusion (28) when the auxiliary support (22) is snap-fitted onto the support member (2). 6. The support system according to claim 5, wherein the support member (2) has ridges (9) on two opposite sides of the longitudinal edge (8), and the auxiliary support (22) has a The second protrusion (29) below the spine (9). 7. Support system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the auxiliary support (22) has a support foot (23) which can be fixed to the support part (2), and a guide rail (23) upright relative to the support foot (23) 24), and the bolt (10) can slide longitudinally relative to the guide rail. 8. The support system according to claim 7, wherein the pre-position extension spring (26) extends between the bolt head (13) of the screw device (10) and the guide rail (24), so that the screw device (10) ) on the nut plate (14) is in contact with the side of the support foot (23) away from the guide rail (24) under the action of pre-tensioning force. 9. Support system according to claim 8, wherein the support foot (23) has a diametrically opposite main stop on the side of the nut plate (14), the main stop (32) determining that the nut plate (14) can Insert into position in the opening (7) inside the support part (2). 10. Support system according to claim 9, wherein the support feet (23) have diametrically opposite secondary stops (33) on the side of the nut plate (14) so that the nut plate (14) can be brought into The position between the main stop (32) and the auxiliary stop (33), the height of the auxiliary stop (33) relative to the support foot (23) is set so that when the screw device (10) overcomes the spring pretension After displacement by force, the nut plate (14) can be rotated past this secondary stop. 11. Support system according to one of claims 7-10, wherein the clamping plate (15) is guided along guide rails (24) so as to slide non-rotatably. 12. The support system according to claim 11, wherein the caliper plate (15) is a part that has a hole (19) for the shaft (12) of the screw device (10) to pass through, and along the guide rail ( 24) Two flanges (18, 19) extending and in sliding contact with the planar portion (27) of the rail (24). 13. Support system according to any one of claims 7 to 12, wherein the nut plate (14) is a part having a hole (20) for the shaft (12) of the screw device (10) to pass through, and to accommodate The chamber body of independent nut (21), nut can not rotate in the chamber body. 14. Fixing device (3) for use with a support system according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a screw device (10), a nut plate (14) interacting with the thread (11 ) of the screw device (10), And the caliper plate (15) pushed onto the shaft (12) of the screw device (10) is characterized in that it has a Auxiliary support (22) between. 15. Support part (2) for use with a support system according to any one of claims 1 to 13, said support part (2) defining in cross-section a Undercut cavity (6) of narrowed opening (7), characterized by ridges (9) on two opposite sides of the longitudinal edge (8).

Images