Structure for mounting on a building wall frames for holding panels such as photovoltaic panels

(54) Title: STRUCTURE FOR ASSEMBLY IN (57) Summary:

A BUILDING WALL AND BUILDING WALL (30) Unionist Priority: 20/04/2007 fr 0754606 (73) Owner (s): arcelormittal - stainless and nickel

ALLOYS, SOLARTE (72) Inventor (s): jean-pierre reyal, yves jautard (74) Attorney (s): Artur Francisco Schaal (86) International Order: pct FR2008050699 of 18/04/2008 (87) International Publication: wo 2oos / i459i3de 04/12/2008

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STRUCTURE FOR MOUNTING ON A BUILDING WALL AND BUILDING WALL ”

Field of the Invention

The present invention deals with a structure for the assembly of a panel support skeleton on the wall of a building such as a roof slope. The structure applies more particularly to the assembly of the frame intended to mount photovoltaic panels.

Background of the Invention

To equip buildings such as houses, with generators of 10 electricity that use solar energy, sets of panels made up of a plurality of photovoltaic cells are placed, for example, on the roof of these buildings.

These panels generally consist of a stack of several layers of glass, silicon, conductors and polymers. Silicon cells, usually square, have a dimension that can reach 200 mm on the side. The cells are assembled in series and then glued between two sheets of glass or between a sheet of glass and several layers of polymer. As an example, a nominal voltage module of 12 V is usually composed of the serialization of 36 monocrystalline or polycrystalline cells. These sets of 36 cells are later assembled in parallel. In the case of a 24 V module, 72 silicon cells are used. These panels can reach high dimensions in the order of 1 meter by 2 meters.

To mount the photovoltaic panels on the walls of buildings, support skeletons and, for example, support skeletons are used that contain a peripheral frame consisting, for example, of a hollow structure by folding a metal strip. However, these skeletons must be fixed on the walls of the buildings in order to keep the panels in place and in order to be able to resist the efforts resulting from the weather. In particular, the fixing of the panels must be able to withstand the weight of snow and the pullout efforts that result from a strong wind.

Usually, these skeletons are arranged above the 5 roofs of the buildings, which has the disadvantage of being less aesthetic. In addition, the space between the panels and the roof can be blocked by debris such as dead leaves.

Description of the Invention

The purpose of the present invention is to correct these drawbacks 10 by proposing a means of fixing on the wall of a building, such as a roof or facade, skeletons that support panels, and in particular electrically active panels such as photovoltaic panels, which allows to insert the set consisting of panels on the roof or facade of the building. For this purpose, the present invention has as its object a structure for mounting on a wall of a building, with a skeleton constituted by a rectangular frame. It comprises a frame consisting of at least two uprights and at least two sleepers, assembled to form at least two sleepers, assembled to form at least one rectangular chassis suitable for receiving a skeleton and means for securing at least one skeleton on the frame, and each upright has a central core bordered by two side flaps that contain chamfers designed to receive the sleepers, and each crosspiece has a central core and side flaps that contain chamfers designed to be perpendicular to the uprights at the intersections between the crosspieces and the uprights, such that the flange of the uprights and crosspieces, which extend on the periphery on the inner periphery of the chassis rectangular, form a protruding edge on which a skeleton can fit.

Preferably, the core of an upright comprises at least one rail that extends over the entire length of the upright.

The chute can be delimited at least by a rib that extends over the entire length of the riser.

Preferably, the core of a crosspiece comprises at least one opening intended to open above the rail of an amount on which the crosspiece rests.

Preferably, the core of a crosspiece is configured so that in its axial part, at least in the area of ​​intersection with an upright, a support surface protruding in the same direction as the flaps.

A side flap of a cross member can be angled into the cross member to allow the attachment of a skeleton supported by the structure.

The means for fixing at least one skeleton on the frame comprises, for example, anchoring devices and fixing frames retained by the anchoring devices and extending above the uprights, and the anchoring devices and fixing frames are provided so that the fixing frames come to rest at least on the upper face of the skeleton edge.

At least one fixing means may comprise a locking head on its upper part, and the fixing frame then comprises a locking tab suitable for hooking on the locking head.

At least one fixing means may comprise a locking head on its upper part, and the fixing frame comprises at one of its ends a fixing blade suitable to be fixed by means of a screw on the screw head and at the other end end, a cover plate comprising a hooking tongue suitable for hooking onto a screw plate.

The fixing means is constituted, for example, by a screwing body comprising a distal threaded rod by screwing into a structural element of the wall of a building and a proximal threaded rod separate from the distal threaded rod by means of body drag. for screwing, and for a suitable retractor to be screwed on the proximal threaded rod of the screwing body, the retractor comprising a locking or screwing head.

Preferably, the fixing frames are suitable to extend on each side of a separation area of ​​two adjacent skeletons, in order to guarantee a watertight coverage of the separation area of ​​the skeletons.

The present invention also deals with a building wall that includes a structure according to the present invention.

The wall can form a roof slope and contain parallel beams, and the structure's uprights extend along the parallel beams and are fixed on them.

The wall may comprise, in addition to the trays, in particular trays made of plastic, wood, glued laminate, plywood, metal, or which may contain double glazing, or of multilayer insulating material, fixed on the parallel beams under the structure .

The wall comprises, for example, at least one panel of photovoltaic cells fixed on a skeleton by the structure.

Brief Description of the Figures

The present invention will now be described more precisely, but not limiting, in relation to the accompanying figures, in which:

figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of the structure for mounting on a roof of a building of skeletons intended to support electrically active panels;

figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the crossing area of ​​an upright and of a crosspiece of a frame that belongs to a structure for the assembly of support skeletons of panels on a roof;

figure 3 is a perspective view of the structure of figure 1, in which a skeleton is implanted;

figure 4 is a perspective view of the structure, shown in figure 1, on which are mounted four skeletons that support a panel each;

figures 5 and 6 are two perspective views of a skeleton fixing frame on the skeleton support structure;

figure 7 is a sectional view of the means for fixing a skeleton on the frame of figure 1 in a joint area between two adjacent skeletons;

figure 8 is a perspective view of a skeleton supporting a panel that can be mounted on the structure of figure 1;

figure 9 is a sectional view of the junction area between two adjacent skeletons.

Description of Private Achievements

The structure, usually represented by 1 in figure 1, consists of a frame identified generally by 2, which consists of the uprights 3 and the sleepers 4, arranged in such a way as to form a lattice of rectangular meshes 5. The uprights 3 extend to the along the rafters 6 of the roof structure, and each upright 3 is fixed on a rafter.

The space 7 between two adjacent rafters is hidden by a metal tray 8 whose slats 9 rest on the rafters 6 and are held in position by the uprights 3.

The metal trays 8 are made up, for example, of an insulating multilayer material consisting of a polymer core held between two metal sheets, for example, stainless steel sheets or galvanized steel sheets, or, where appropriate, lacquered and galvanized steel.

These metal trays 8 are intended, on the one hand, to ensure a certain tightness under panels fixed on the frame 2 and, on the other hand, to ensure thermal insulation when the panels fixed on the frame 2 are panels subjected to solar radiation, and that they can therefore heat up and consequently heat up the atmosphere under their lower face.

These trays can be made up of other materials such as plastics, wood, glue or plywood.

In the case of domes, the trays can consist of 15 double glazing.

The uprights 3 are fixed on the rafters by the fastening means 10 located between two crosspieces 11 placed at the junction of a crosspiece and an upright.

The fixing means 10 and 11 comprise bodies screwed to the 20 rafters 6 and on which spacers 12 and 13 may also be screwed to retain means for fixing skeletons on the frame. These fixing means and retractors will be described in more detail below.

As can be seen more easily in figure 2, an upright 3 is a profile that comprises a central core 31 delimited by two vertical flaps 32 and 33. The central core 31 comprises a central rib 34 protruding towards the upper part of the upright, that is, in the direction in which the two side flaps 32 and 33 extend. The central rib 34 is bounded by two lateral ribs 35 and 36 that extend in the opposite direction to the central rib. These two lateral ribs 35 and 36 also delimited by the side flaps 32 and 33 respectively constitute gutters that allow the flow of water that can result from the infiltration of rainwater. The central rib 34 projecting upwards includes holes 37 for receiving fixing means. As these holes are located in the upper part of the central rib 34, the water that flows in the channels 35 and 36 cannot penetrate through the holes 37. The side flaps 32 and 33 contain chamfers 38 and 39, designed to receive sleepers 4 in the areas of junction between the uprights and sleepers. These chamfers are regularly spaced along the uprights with appropriate distances so that the meshes 5 delimited by the uprights and crossbeams can receive skeletons.

The crosspiece 4, perpendicular to the upright 3, is also a profile that comprises a central core 40 bordered by two side flaps 41 and 42. The side flaps 41 and 42 contain chamfers 43 and 44 located in the junction area of ​​a crosspiece and of an amount. The central core of the beam 40 is configured to have two ribs 45 and 46 protruding from the bottom of the beam and designed to form gutters to receive water that can seep under panels supported by the frame or the condensation waters. The two ribs 45 and 46 forming gutters contain openings 47 formed by slots above the gutters 35 and 36 of an upright in the junction area of ​​the crossbar 4 of the upright 3. These openings are designed to allow the water collected in the gutters to drain

45 and 46 from the beam to make it flow into the rails 35 and 36 of the uprights that are oriented in the direction of the rafters of a roof structure. The slots 47 have tabs 48 protruding under the bottom face of the crosspiece that can fit into the riser in order to lock the crosspiece in relation to the riser and to ensure its orthogonal assembly.

At the junction of the crossbar 4 and the upright 3, the crosspiece is fixed to the upright by means of a fastening means 11 that comprises a spacer 13 that serves as a nut and allows to fasten the crosspiece 4 against the upright 3. This fastening means will be described in detail below.

The flap 42 of the crosspiece 4 intended to be on the upstream part of the frame is perpendicular to the core 40 of the crosspiece 4. The flap 41 is located on the downstream part of the frame and is inclined towards the inside of the crosspiece 4.

Due to the arrangement of chamfers 43, 44 provided in the flaps

41, 42 of the crosspiece, as well as, because the flaps 32 and 33 of the riser reach a height sufficient to extend above the core of the crosspieces 4, the side flaps of the uprights and crosspieces constitute an upward protruding edge that extends on the inner periphery of each mesh

5. Thus, each mesh 5 bounded by two adjacent uprights and two adjacent sleepers constitutes a chassis 15 on which a skeleton supporting a panel can be placed.

As can be seen in figure 3, a skeleton, usually identified by 50 and intended to receive a panel (not shown in the figure), consists of a frame 51 that includes end posts 52 and 53 and side posts identified by references 54 and 55, with a trapezoidal section. This skeleton is embedded in the protruding rim that extends on the inner periphery of the central opening of a chassis 15. The upper end upright 52 fits along the flap 41 of a cross-member 4 folded in and thus secures the upper end upright 51. The other three uprights 53, 54 and 55 fit parallel to the side flaps 32, 33 and 42 of the different uprights and sleepers that make up the chassis.

In figure 4, four skeletons 50A, 50B, 50C, 50D are shown, which carry panels 60A, 60B, 60C, 60D mounted respectively on the structure constituted by the uprights 3 and the sleepers 4, arranged so as to form a rectangular pavement.

Two adjacent skeletons 50A and 5OB placed horizontally next to each other, parallel to the sleepers 4 are separated by a space or separation area 61 that extends above an upright 3. This separation area 61 is covered by a fixing frame 62 which is retained by the anchoring devices 10 and 11 located along the post 3.

Each fixing frame is slightly longer in length than one side of a frame 50A or 50B, and all spaces between two adjacent frames and extending parallel to uprights 3 are covered by fixing frames 62.

As can be seen in figure 9, flexible elastomeric joints 621 are located between the skeleton uprights 60A and 60B.

Thus, a tightness is ensured along the vertical joining areas of adjacent panels.

In addition, a rigid joint 341 fills the space 20 between the central rib 34 of the riser 3 and the rafter 6, in order to avoid condensation phenomena.

A fixing frame 62 is shown in more detail in figures 5 and 6.

The fixing frame, generally identified by reference 62 25 in figure 5, comprises a longitudinal body 63 comprising a central rib 64 designed to ensure good rigidity. The body 63 of the fixing frame terminates at one of its ends a screw blade 65 that has a housing 66 for receiving a screw head, housing 66 which has a central hole 67 for allowing the passage of a screw body .

The other end of the fixing frame 62 has a cover and locking blade 68, intended to cover the screwing blade of an adjacent fixing frame.

As can be seen in figure 6, the fixing blade 62 has on its bottom face 69 two locking tabs 70 that have clips 71 for attaching to locking heads 80 of spacers 12 of fixing means 10 of a upright 3 on a beam 6 (these fixing means are visible in figure 7).

As can also be seen in figure 7, the screw blade 65 is fixed by means of a screw 90 which is screwed into the screw head 91 of a spacer 13 of a fastening means 11 of an upright and a crosspiece located in the junction point of upright and crosspiece. As can be seen in figure 7, the locking blade 68 'of a frame 62' located in the extension of the frame 62 covers the lashing blade 65 of the frame 62. The cover and locking frame 68 'has at its bottom a tongue 68Ά which hooks on the end of the screw blade 65 of the other frame.

It should be noted that the frame 62 whose screw blade is covered by the cover and locking blade 68 'of the frame 62', is located downstream of the frame 62 'in relation to the slope of the roof, in order to ensure good tightness. In fact, in this arrangement, when the rainwater falls on the roof and drains, it drains in the direction that goes from upstream to downstream and, therefore, at the junction between frame 62 'and frame 62, the rain water drains first over the frame 62 ', it passes over the cover blade 68' and then flows over the body of the frame 62. Thus, rain water does not penetrate the holes corresponding to the passage of the fixing screw 90.

Each of the fixing means 10 and 11 comprises a screwing body 100 comprising a distal threaded rod 101 which is screwed into the rafter 6 and a proximal screwing rod 102 to which a spacer 12 or 13 is fixed by screwing.

When the fixing means is a fixing means 10 located between two crosspieces, the spacer 12 has a locking head 80.

When the fastening means is a fastening means 11 located at the junction of a crosspiece and an upright, the spacer 13 has a screw head 91.

The proximal and distal screw rods 101 and 102 are separated by a rotating drag means 103 which is constituted as a six-face screw head.

It should be noted that the screw bodies 100 are screwed into rafters 6 passing through the holes 37 provided in the core of the riser 3, such that the drag heads 103 of the screw bodies 100 are supported on the upper face of the central rib 31 of the riser 3. In the junction area between an upright 3 and a cross member 4, the cross member 4 is then inserted into the proximal part 102 of the screw body 100 which passes through a hole 49 provided in the cross member core. A screw head 91 designed to receive the screw 90 fixing the screw blade 65 of the fixing frame 62 is screwed on the proximal screw rod 102 and thus compresses the crosspiece against the screw head 103.

In the areas between two crossbars, a spacer 12 with a locking head 80 is screwed directly to the proximal screwing rod 102 of the fastening means 10. In addition, a washer 104 is located between the drag head 103 of the screwing rod and the spacer 12 so as to form a supporting surface the lateral amount of a frame fixed on the frame. This washer has a thickness identical to the thickness of the plate that constitutes the crosspiece, so that the upper face of the washer is on the same level as the upper face of the core of a crosspiece. Thus, the frame is in flat support on its four sides.

As already mentioned, the tightness between two adjacent frames is ensured by fastening frames that ensure both the tightness and the fastening of the skeletons on the support structure. In return, the tightness between two adjacent skeletons 50A and 50D located in a column parallel to the rafters, is ensured by means of a lateral flap 61A provided in the amount of the skeleton 50A located downstream. That flap 61A that extends outward to the skeleton 50A covers the amount of the skeleton 50D located downstream in relation to the skeleton 50A. This coverage ensures a tightness in the same way as the roof tiles that overlap each other.

A skeleton suitable for this use is shown in figure 8. This skeleton 80 consists of a peripheral structure 81 that comprises four uprights 82, 83, 84 and 85. The four uprights have, in their internal upper part, a groove 86 intended for receive a panel. An upright 84 comprises a side flap 87 which extends outwardly at the top of the frame and at a height sufficient to be able to fit on the opposite upright of an adjacent frame.

The frames that have just been described can be manufactured by folding one or more metal strips that are appropriately cut, and then folded and finally assembled by welding. This method of manufacture allows to obtain particularly light and rigid frames. In addition, they are hollow. Thus, when they are intended to receive electrically active panels such as photovoltaic panels, the electrical connection circuits of the panels with each other and with an external circuit, can be concealed within the hollow amounts.

The structure that has just been described can be used in particular to install photovoltaic panels on a building roof.

In this case, as the structure is mounted directly on the rafters, the set of photovoltaic panels is integrated into the roof. Known means in themselves are provided to ensure the tightness between the roof itself and the photovoltaic cell panels, so that rain does not penetrate under the panels at the junction between the roof and the photovoltaic panels.

This structure can also be used to fix photovoltaic panels or, more generally, electrically active panels on a building wall such as a wall that can be vertical. In this case, the amounts are fixed on the wall structure. This wall structure may consist of beams or concrete to which the means for fixing the uprights can be screwed.