Static structures (e.g. – buildings) – Combined – With a sunlight activated device
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-20
2002-09-24
Stephan, Beth A. (Department: 3635)
Static structures (e.g., buildings)
Combined
With a sunlight activated device
C136S248000, C136S251000, C136S256000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06453629
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Applications No. 11-206205, filed Jul. 21, 1999; No. 11-225180, filed Aug. 9, 1999; and No. 11-361155, filed Dec. 20, 1999, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by-reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a roofing tile used as a roofing material for a building and, more particularly, to a roofing tile having a photovoltaic module for solar-light power generation.
A photovoltaic module for converting solar-light energy into electrical energy is known. A technique of using such a module mounted on a roofing tile used as roofing material for a building is disclosed in, e.g., Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication Nos. 10-88741, 10-115051, and 10-325216.
A photovoltaic module is fixed on a roofing tile main body by the following method. As the first fixing form, a photovoltaic module is directly bonded to the roofing tile main body with an adhesive. The second fixing form is disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 11-1999: a roofing tile main body having a recess is used, a photovoltaic module is bonded to the bottom surface of the recess with an adhesive, and the gap between the photovoltaic module and the inner peripheral surface of the recess is filled with a caulking material.
However, an adhesive or caulking material readily degrades. The adhesive or caulking material rapidly degrades especially in, e.g., a rooftop environment where it is exposed to sunbeams and increases its temperature, or open to wind and rain. If the adhesive or caulking material degrades to form cracks, rainwater or dust may enter the gap between the roofing tile main body and the photovoltaic module through the cracks.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 10-88741 discloses an arrangement in which a photovoltaic module is stored in a recess of a plain roofing tile, and a through hole communicating with the reverse side of the roofing tile is formed at the eaves-side edge of the plain roofing tile. Generally, of roofing tiles adjacent in the eaves-ridge direction of a roof, the ridge-side roofing tile has its eaves-side edge portion overlapping the ridge-side edge portion of the eaves-side roofing tile. For this reason, rainwater that has entered the recess of the ridge-side roofing tile is discharged to the reverse side of the roofing tile through the through hole, is received by the eaves-side roofing tile, and runs in the eaves direction along the slope of the eaves-side roofing tile.
The gap between the edge portions of the roofing tiles adjacent in the eaves-ridge direction is sometimes jammed with dust or the like. In this case, it is difficult for the roofing tile disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 10-88741 to discharge rainwater that has been discharged to the lower side of the roofing tile in the eaves direction. Accordingly, the water may be discharged to the attic side. Hence, the reliability of drainage to the eaves side is poor.
If the through hole is jammed with dust or the like, it is hard to discharge rainwater that has entered the recess to the lower side of the roofing tile main body. When the photovoltaic module has a terminal box on its lower surface, the terminal box is exposed to the rainwater in the recess. This may cause corrosion of the terminal box or failures such as short circuit and earth leakage at the connection portion between the terminal box and an output cable extracted from the terminal box.
In the roofing tile disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 10-115051, a photovoltaic module is stored in a recess. The upper surface of the eaves-side edge portion of this roofing tile is formed to be flush with that of the photovoltaic module almost without forming any step therebetween. At the left and right edge portions, the upper surface of the roofing tile projects from that of the photovoltaic module. This prior art describes the arrangement for making rainwater smoothly run on the surface of the roofing tile, though discharge of rainwater that has entered the recess of the roofing tile is not mentioned.
In the roofing tile disclosed in. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 10-325216, a photovoltaic module is stored in a recess. The upper surface of the eaves-side edge portion of this roofing tile is formed to be flush with that of the photovoltaic module almost without forming any step therebetween. At one of the left and right edge portions, the upper surface of the roofing tile projects from that of the photovoltaic module. This prior art describes the arrangement for making rainwater smoothly run on the surface of the roofing tile, though discharge of rainwater that has entered the recess of the roofing tile is not mentioned.
Jpn. UM Appln. KOKAI Publication Nos. 62-52610, 1-148417, 4-28524, and 5-3430 disclose techniques of bonding a photovoltaic module to a roofing tile main body and doing waterproof treatment for the peripheral portion of the bonded photovoltaic module using a caulking material. The caulking material fills the gap between the peripheral portion of the photovoltaic module and the inner peripheral surface of the recess of the roofing tile main body in which the module is stored.
In the roofing tile disclosed in each of these prior-art techniques, since the roofing tile main body and photovoltaic module are bonded, the roofing tile main body and photovoltaic module can hardly be separated. For a number of roofing tiles placed on a roof for solar-light power generation, a certain photovoltaic module may require exchange. In this case, only the photovoltaic module requiring exchange cannot be exchanged, and the roofing tile main body itself must be exchanged. This involves difficult operation of temporarily detaching several roofing tiles around the roofing tile to be exchanged.
Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 10-317592 discloses a technique of setting a roofing tile for solar-light power generation (a roofing tile with photovoltaic) using a fixing metal fitting having a clamp portion projecting from a substrate. The fixing metal fitting is fixed at the ridge-side edge portion of the roofing tile. To lap the sheathing roof board with the roofing tile by tile-roofing, the clamp portion of the fixing metal fitting is bent. The bent clamp portion clamps the eaves-side edge portion of the ridge-side roofing tile. However, the roofing tile disclosed in this prior art must be placed while bending the clamp portion of the fixing metal fitting during tile-roofing operation. Hence, laying is cumbersome, and it is difficult to firmly fix the roofing tile only by bending the clamp portion.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the first object of the present invention to obtain a roofing tile having a photovoltaic module to generate power, which can discharge rainwater that has entered the recess where the photovoltaic module is stored to the eaves side at improved reliability.
It is the second object of the present invention to obtain a roofing tile having a photovoltaic module to generate power, which can satisfactorily discharge rainwater that has entered the recess, in addition to the first object.
It is the third object of the present invention to obtain a roofing tile having a photovoltaic module to generate power, which can suppress adverse influence on the terminal box of the photovoltaic module due to rainwater that has entered the recess, in addition to the first object of the present invention.
It is the fourth object of the present invention to obtain a roofing tile having a photovoltaic module to generate power, which can easily exchange a photovoltaic module which requires exchange and also can firmly fix the photovoltaic module to the roofing tile main body.
In order to achieve the first object, according to claim
1
of the present invention, there is provided a roofing tile having a photovoltaic module to generate power, which has, at the eaves-side edge portion of a roofing tile main body set tilted on a roof, at least one w
Hatsukaiwa Teruki
Hirai Kazuhito
Nakazima Ichiro
Nomura Takuji
Tanigawa Fumihiro
Hogan & Hartson LLP
Kaneka Corporation
Stephan Beth A.
LandOfFree
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