WO2025163214A1 - Ballasted support for solar installations - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a ballasted support for solar installations, in particular for photovoltaic solar modules used on flat roofs or surfaces, in which water or any other material is used for ballasting. The present invention is characterised by the particular design and configuration of each and every one of the elements forming part of the support of the application, thereby producing an easily transportable support that can be assembled quickly and simply.

Description

BALLAST SUPPORT FOR SOLAR INSTALLATIONS

DESCRIPTION

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention, as the title of the invention establishes, is a ballasted support for solar installations, in particular for photovoltaic solar modules that are used on roofs or flat surfaces, where the ballast is carried out by means of water or any other material.

The present invention is characterized by the special design and configuration of each and every one of the elements that form part of the support object of the application, such that a support is achieved that allows a quick and simple assembly, that is easy to transport thanks to the fact that the parts that comprise it are stackable, with a very reduced weight, that is ballasted with water or other materials such as gravel, sand, concrete or aggregates in general and that does not require drilling holes in the roof, where said support not only offers a support surface for the solar modules but also an anchoring surface.

Therefore, the present invention is limited within the scope of support structures for photovoltaic solar installations and particularly, photovoltaic solar installations that are ballasted.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, photovoltaic solar energy has experienced significant growth. These solar photovoltaic installations are installed on all types of surfaces, such as roofs, canopies, terraces, and even on sheets of water.

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REPLACEMENT SHEET (RULE 26) Generally, installations on roofs or decks are carried out by fixing metal structures or metal profiles that are screwed to the roof itself, and the solar modules are then screwed or fixed onto these structures.

However, the main problem is that, for a variety of reasons, there are many flat roofs or coverings where mechanical fixing, drilling, and/or perforation are not possible. This may be because the roofing felt or cladding could be damaged, causing leaks or dampness, or because the roof is covered with an element that prevents or hinders a fixed connection, such as roofs made of gravel, water, earth, etc.

For this type of flat, walkable roof, the most common solution adopted so far is to use weighted supports, where weight is simply added to a support to which the photovoltaic module is attached. This allows the installation to withstand gusts of wind, avoiding the need to drill holes in the roof. The photovoltaic modules are placed on these supports and counterweighted in some way, using concrete slabs or a similar element that provides weight.

The most common ballasted solutions in the industry consist of a metal structure that tilts the solar module, and on this structure, weight is placed either using trays or some other method. There are also concrete supports with a predetermined inclination on which the photovoltaic modules are directly placed, which is a relatively simple form of self-ballasted support. The main problem with this type of solution lies in the difficulty of transporting heavy concrete blocks to use as ballast, which makes installation difficult and increases the time taken to complete the project, in addition to causing injuries to workers. Another disadvantage of concrete supports is that they are very brittle and easily break during transport or installation. They also require auxiliary elements such as cranes to lift them onto the roof.

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REPLACEMENT SHEET (RULE 26) On the other hand, there are other solutions, such as plastic supports weighted down with concrete slabs. There are other variations on this concept of a ballasted plastic support, such as the one described in Patent WO2010/054795 A1, which deals with an L-shaped support weighted down with stones or similar.

However, there are no known means in the state of the art in the sector that combine different functionalities and solve several of the problems presented by current ballasted supports for photovoltaic modules on flat roofs; on the one hand, the support allows easy installation, is easy to transport, has a reduced weight, can be quickly ballasted with water or any other material without impairing its ballast capacity, and does not require drilling holes in the roof, developing a support for roofs such as the one described below, this being the object of the present application and whose essential characteristics are collected in their essentiality in the first claim.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is set forth in its essence in the independent claim and the different embodiments are set forth in the dependent claims.

The present invention relates to a weighted support for photovoltaic modules comprising two separate parts, on the one hand, a base and on the other hand a cover, where the cover is fixable on the base and each of them are nestable forming stacks of bases and cover fitted one inside the other. The base has a configuration like a parallelepiped open at the top which is complemented by the cover that has a perimeter corresponding to that of the base that fits on it, in such a way that, when the cover is fixed on the base, the support is formed and an interior volume is defined.

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REPLACEMENT SHEET (RULE 26) refillable through a hole or nozzle, preferably in the lid.

The connection between the lid and the base can be made using any of the known removable connection methods, such as flanges, screws, or any mechanical connection that allows opening and closing, or by clipping, snapping, or by pressure. In a preferred, but by no means limiting, embodiment, this can be achieved using folding tabs provided around the perimeter of the lid, which have openings into which, when pressed, protrusions arranged on the base or on the complementary element to the one with the tabs fit.

The geometry of the base can be any, but it will preferably have certain recesses or folds in order to provide the base with greater structural resistance against compressive forces.

The cover may be provided with a first raised projection that, on its upper part, has a first inclined surface such that when the photovoltaic module is placed on it, the module is fixed, providing an inclination to the panel to optimize the generated energy. The cover has a second raised projection spaced from the first, and that, on its upper part, has a second inclined surface such that it is arranged coplanar with the first inclined surface. For fixing the photovoltaic module to the support, the cover comprises at least one pair of perforations in each of the inclined surfaces, and in a preferred embodiment, said perforations have embedded nuts compatible with the most common fixing systems or parts in the photovoltaic solar sector. Furthermore, to facilitate the assembly of the photovoltaic module on the support, the cover can be provided with projections or crenellations at the end of the second inclined surface, such that when the module is placed on the support, these serve as a stop and thus prevent the module from sliding on the support, in addition to providing a support point for the

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REPLACEMENT SHEET (RULE 26) module on the support that serves to align the different modules of the installation for mounting the photovoltaic module in both horizontal and vertical positions.

The support, lid and base are preferably made of any plastic material (PE, HDPE, PP, PVC, PA) or other composite materials, preferably high-density polyethylene.

Thanks to the described characteristics it is achieved

• Quick and easy assembly of both the supports and the solar installation.

• Ease and optimization of transport of supports.

• Very low weight making installation easy.

• Ballasted with water or other common materials.

• High durability of the support.

• Compatible with large panels and different mounting positions.

Unless otherwise indicated, all technical and scientific elements used herein have the meaning commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. Methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice of the present invention.

Throughout the description and claims, the word "comprises" and its variants are not intended to exclude other technical features, additives, components, or steps. For those skilled in the art, other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be apparent in part from the description and in part from the practice of the invention.

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REPLACEMENT SHEET (RULE 26) EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES

To complement the description being made and in order to help better understand the characteristics of the invention, in accordance with a preferred example of practical implementation thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description, in which the following has been represented for illustrative and non-limiting purposes.

Figure 1 shows the two parts, lid and base, respectively, that make up the support of the invention.

In figure 2, you can see how the lid and base that make up the support are stackable.

In Figure 3, we can see a perspective representation of the support object of the invention already closed.

In Figure 4, we can see a perspective view of the support on which a photovoltaic module is arranged.

Figure 5 shows a perspective view of several photovoltaic modules mounted on a series of weighted supports.

Figure 6 shows a side view of the bracket with a solar module mounted.

Figure 7 shows a perspective view of the connection between the support and the panel for the case in which the support is located at the end of the solar module or end of the line.

Figure 8 shows a perspective view of the front connection between two adjacent solar modules and the support.

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REPLACEMENT SHEET (RULE 26) Figure 9 shows a detail of the rear of the weighted support with the filling hole.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION.

A preferred embodiment of the proposed invention is described below in view of the figures.

In Figure 1 we can see the weighted support object of the invention which, as can be seen, comprises a base (1) and a lid (2) that can be removably joined together and that serve to form the weighted support object of the invention. As can be seen in Figure 2, both parts are separately stackable in such a way that transport is facilitated and associated costs are reduced since both the bases and the lids have a general truncated conical configuration that facilitates the fitting of some bases into others and of the lids into other lids.

The base (1) has the shape of an open parallelepiped at the top, delimited by the side walls (3) and the lower surface (4) and forming an interior volume (5) that can be filled with water, sand, stone or any other material. Thus, it has a geometry like an open container at the top, preferably with non-straight walls, with a series of recesses or folds (6) in order to provide the base with greater capacity and structural resistance against compression forces.

To form the support object of the invention, the cover (2) is closed on the base (1) which has a complementary perimeter, where the cover (2) is provided with a seal (7) along the entire perimeter to facilitate the closing of the cover on the base and ensure the tightness of the interior volume (5), formed by the inner part of the base and cover.

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REPLACEMENT SHEET (RULE 26) In the embodiment shown, to close the lid (2) on the base (1), the lid is provided with a series of pop-up and fold-down tabs (8) arranged along the edges of the lid provided with slots into which snap-in projections (9) fit, arranged around the perimeter of the upper edge of the base (1) and coinciding with the slots of the pop-up and fold-down tabs (8). Additionally, the lid (2) and the base (1) have lugs (10) at the corners and central part for mechanical fixing between the two using screws, flanges or similar elements.

In addition, on the lid (2) there is a perforation or hole (11) that allows access to the closed interior volume (5), on which a plug can be placed.

The cover (2) also has a first raised projection (13) on its rear part, which on its upper part has a first inclined surface (15), while on the front part it has a second raised projection (16), which on its upper part has a second inclined surface (17), the height of the first projection (13) and the second projection being

(16) such that the first inclined surface (15) and the second inclined surface

(17) are coplanar and have a height such that it allows the panels to be arranged resting on said inclined surfaces of the projections in an inclined manner with a suitable slope to optimize the solar production of the modules and maximize solar capture.

Also, in the front part of the cover (2), on the second inclined surface of the second projection, there are some projections (12) that serve as a stop for the lower edge of the solar panels (20) and that facilitate the assembly and alignment of the solar modules on the support (figures 4, 5 and 6).

On the cover (2), both on the first inclined surface (15) and on the second inclined surface (17) there are at least a pair of perforations that preferably will have embedded nuts (14) for screwing or for the

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REPLACEMENT SHEET (RULE 26) fixing of the support and the photovoltaic module (20), being able to use the most common joining clips (30) in the industry.

Figure 6 shows a side view of the support with a mounted solar module where it can be seen how the pop-up and folding tabs (8) retain the cover (2) on the base (1) and how a photovoltaic module (20) is arranged in an inclined manner with respect to the horizontal and fixed on the weighted support. It is also worth noting how the lower edge of the photovoltaic panels (20) abut against the projections (12) of the front end of the cover (2).

In figure 8 it can be clearly seen how the same support is shared by adjacent solar panels (20), so that each of the projections (12) of each ballasted support is used by each of the photovoltaic panels (20). It can also be seen how the fixing pieces used in the solar sector consist of staples (30) that serve to screw into the embedded nuts of the support (14) and hold and fix the panel to the support.

Having sufficiently described the nature of the present invention, as well as the manner of putting it into practice, it is stated that, within its essence, it may be put into practice in other embodiments that differ in detail from the one indicated by way of example, and to which the protection sought will also be extended, provided that it does not alter, change or modify its fundamental principle.

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REPLACEMENT SHEET (RULE 26)

Claims

1 Weighted support for covers or flat surfaces characterized in that it comprises a base (1) in the form of a receptacle open at the top on which a cover (2) or closure is freely fixed, where both the base (1) and the cover (2) have a configuration that allows the bases (1) to be fitted together and the covers (1) also to be fitted together, where the cover (2) has a first raised projection (13) on its rear part, which in its upper part has a first inclined surface (15), while in the front part it has a second raised projection (16), which in its upper part has a second inclined surface (17), the height of the first projection (13) and the second projection (16) being such that the first inclined surface (15) and the second inclined surface (17) are coplanar, there being on the second inclined surface (17), in its anterior part, some projections (12); where once the cover (2) is fixed on the base (1), an interior volume (5) is defined, watertight and fillable through a hole or perforation (1 1) made in the cover, where the union between the cover (2) and the base (1) is made by means of some liberable union means. 2. -Weighted support for covers or flat surfaces according to claim 1, characterized in that the freely attachable means consist of a series of pop-up and foldable tabs (8) arranged on the edges of the covers (1), said pop-up and foldable tabs (8) being provided with grooves into which snap-in projections (9) are fitted, arranged perpendicularly on the upper edge of the base (1) and coinciding with the grooves of the pop-up and foldable tabs (8). 3. -Weighted support for covers or flat surfaces according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that on the cover (2), both on the first inclined surface (15) and on the second inclined surface (17) there is at least one pair of perforations. 10 REPLACEMENT SHEET (RULE 26) 4. -Weighted support for roofs or flat surfaces according to claim 3, characterized in that some of said perforations have an embedded nut (14). 5. -Weighted support for covers or flat surfaces according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that the weighting is carried out by means of water or any other fluid filled through a hole or nozzle (11) in the cover. 6. -Weighted support for covers or flat surfaces according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that the cover (2) has a joint (7) along the perimeter to facilitate the closing of the cover (2) with the base (1). 7. -Weighted support for roofs or flat surfaces according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that the base (1) has a geometry like an open container at the top, preferably with non-straight walls, with a truncated cone shape with a series of recesses and folds (6). 8. -Weighted support for roofs or flat surfaces according to any of the previous claims, characterized in that it is made of high-density polyethylene plastic. 11 REPLACEMENT SHEET (RULE 26)