Back to results
US 2026/0303000 A1Published application
Method and Apparatus for Increasing the Efficiency of and Reducing the Environmental Impact of Photovoltaic Panel Support Arrays
AssigneeGeopier Foundation Company, Inc.
InventorsKord J. Wissmann, David J. White
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system, apparatus and method for increasing the efficiency of and reducing the environmental impact of photovoltaic panel support elements including a vertical panel support designed for embedment into soil or ground that has a load transfer element for increasing resistance on the applied vertical, lateral, and uplift loads of photovoltaic panels.
Claims22
A photovoltaic panel support system comprising:
- a piling element adapted to be driven and extend to a depth into a ground and support a panel rack above the ground, wherein the piling element has a web spanning between two flanges and is provided with a panel rack height, an embedment length, a compression load, an uplift load, and a lateral load;
- and
- a load transfer element provided to the piling element adapted to increase resistance to one or more of the compression, uplift, and lateral loads.
A photovoltaic panel support apparatus comprising:
- a panel rack attached to one or more panels;
- a vertical support section adapted for embedment into a ground and for supporting the one or more panels above the ground, the vertical support section having a panel rack height, an embedment length, a compression load, an uplift load, and a lateral load;
- and
- a load transfer element provided to the vertical support section and adapted to adapted to increase resistance to one or more of the compression, uplift, and lateral loads.
1 more element
A method of constructing photovoltaic panel farms, comprising the steps of:
- providing a series of photovoltaic panels, a panel rack and a panel support, the panel support having a piling section and a load transfer element, wherein the piling section is adapted to extend to a depth into a ground and support the panel rack above the ground, wherein the piling section has a web spanning between two flanges and is provided with a panel rack height, an embedment length, a compression load, an uplift load, and a lateral load, and wherein the load transfer element is provided to the piling section and adapted to increase resistance to one or more of the compression, uplift, and lateral loads;
- embedding the panel support into the ground;
- and
- attaching the photovoltaic panels and panel rack to the panel support.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.