Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Combined – With a sunlight activated device
Reexamination Certificate
1997-08-25
2001-02-06
Kent, Christopher T. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Combined
With a sunlight activated device
C052S468000, C126S621000, C126S623000, C136S244000, C136S291000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182403
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a roof for general house using combination solar battery and roof members and to a mounting method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a roof constructed by mounting roof panels in the vertical direction, for example, like a roof of the batten seam structure (a vertical-roofing roof) and to a mounting method thereof and presents proposals on a vertical-roofing roof to solve specific problems arising in the combination structure of solar battery and roof panel and on a mounting method thereof.
2. Related Background Art
There are mainly two ways for placing a solar battery on a roof: one of them is a method for mounting the solar battery on an existing roof; the other is a method for laying the solar battery itself as a roof.
In the former, the solar battery is installed by use of some frame on the existing roof, and conventional solar battery modules can thus be used as they are. However, the installation cost is high and the appearance is poor. Therefore, the latter method is drawing attention recently.
As for the latter method, a variety of mounting methods of roof are known for long in general. The conventional mounting methods are classified roughly into flat roofing, standing seam roofing, batten seam roofing, corrugated sheet roofing, folded sheet roofing, horizontal roofing, tile roofing, weld roofing, and so on. Among these, the folded sheet roofing and corrugated sheet roofing are normally used for factories and warehouses, and most of mounting methods for general house are tile roofing (including plain tile roofing), batten seam roofing, horizontal roofing, and modifications thereof.
Prior art examples of such methods using the solar battery for general house include Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-55618 (tile roofing), Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-152670 (horizontal roofing), Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-302924 (horizontal roofing), Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-211932 (batten seam roofing), U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,939 (batten seam roofing), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,881 (vertical roofing).
FIG.
13
and
FIG. 14
show the batten seam roof structure described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-211932, which is called batten seam roofing with batten, because a batten is interposed between roof panels. The roofing method is carried out as follows.
(1) Rafters not illustrated are mounted on purlins not illustrated.
(2) Sheathing roof boards
101
are placed on and/or between the rafters and are fixed to the rafters by nails or the like.
(3) Underlayment
102
is laid over the sheathing roof boards.
(4) Spacers S are fixed onto the underlayment
102
with nails N.
(5) Battens M are fixed onto the spacers S with nails N.
(6) Then combination solar battery and roof panels
103
, processed by folding, are placed on steps of the battens M and spacers S and the wiring work is carried out with connection connectors
106
on the back surface side.
(7) After completion of wiring, caps
107
are put over the battens M so as to pinch the head of each batten M and the upright portions of the folded portions of the roof panels on the both sides thereof.
(8) Then the combination solar battery and roof panels
103
, together with the caps
107
, are fixed to the battens M by use of tacks R as shown in FIG.
14
.
The foregoing is the batten seam roofing method with batten.
FIG. 15
shows another typical roof structure of batten seam roofing, as also described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,881, which is called batten seam roofing without batten, because the battens are excluded from the above-stated batten seam roofing.
(1) The rafters not illustrated are mounted on the purlins not illustrated.
(2) The sheathing roof boards
101
are placed on (between) the rafters.
(3) The underlayment not illustrated is laid over the sheathing roof boards
101
.
(4) Roof panels
103
with the respective solar batteries mounted thereon are fixed by use of through retaining clips
104
in such a way that while each retaining clip catches the upright portions of the roof panels, it is fixed to the sheathing roof board with nails N.
(5) Wires C guided from the back surfaces of the roof panels are set in spaces in the through retaining clips
104
.
(6) Caps
107
are put over the through retaining clips
104
to be fixed.
The foregoing is the batten seam roofing without batten.
The mounting methods of roof materials as described above, however, require the wiring work in addition to the laying work of roof materials conventionally conducted, which complicates the mounting work and which thus poses a problem of increase in the construction cost. In the case of the mounting as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-211932, there is no way for measuring the output of each solar battery. If some of solar batteries became faulty, it would not be easy to find out the faulty batteries. Even if they were found out, replacement of individual solar batteries would involve great difficulties, thus posing a problem in maintenance.
In contrast with it, in the batten seam roofing without batten as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,881, the wiring can be put between the retaining clip and the cover and even after completion of mounting, the wiring part can be exposed by removing the cover. It thus has a merit of easy maintenance. However, the roof mounting construction also involves the wire connection work and the mounting is also complicated. Especially, since the work on the roof costs high, simplification of work has been demanded in order to realize the reduction of cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,939 discloses a roof structure in which individual roof panels
103
are fixed on roof frame members H shown in present
FIGS. 16 and 17
. Wiring parts C are laid below the roof panels
103
. Such wiring complicates the mounting process and impedes maintenance. Unlike the present invention, the roof structure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,939 exhibits poor wind endurance.
The present invention presents a further progress in the above-stated ideas in view of these problems and thus provides a practical vertical-roofing roof and a mounting method thereof to simplify the work at a working site, that are low in the construction cost, that can reduce work errors, that permit measurement or replacement of each module unit after mounted, and that are excellent in maintainability and in wind endurance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
For achieving the above object, the present invention employed the following means.
(1) A plurality of combination solar battery and roof panels are fixed onto a fixing member by fixtures with clearance between the plurality of combination solar battery and roof panels.
(2) A roof structural member is used as the fixing member.
(3) Output terminals of solar batteries of the combination solar battery and roof panels are connected with each other in the clearance.
The following functional effects can be expected by the above means according to the present invention.
(1) By employing the arrangement of assembly unit, the installation work and the electric wiring work, which was conventionally conducted at the working site, can be carried out in the factory, which can greatly decrease the expensive mounting work at the working site. Despite the assembly structure, the individual combination solar battery and roof panels can be removed easily even after mounted, by removing the fixtures to the stationary members, which thus enhances maintainability.
The problem of poor wind endurance arising with such mounting and with enlargement of roof member is also solved by the assembly unit according to the present invention, because the assembly unit can be fixed to the roof structural member in the clearance between the combination solar battery and roof panels. Therefore, the wind endurance can be maintained at the same level as before.
(2) By the arrangement wherein the assembly unit is integrally coupled with the roof structural member, no new me
Fukae Kimitoshi
Mimura Toshihiko
Mori Masahiro
Takabayashi Akiharu
Takada Takeshi
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Kent Christopher T.
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