Snow guard structure

A snow guard structure has the configuration in which a first frame body holding a ridge-side end side of a solar cell panel and a second frame body holding an eaves-side end side of an adjacent solar cell panel are fixed to a roof surface such that spaces are formed under their bottom face portions, and a snow guard fitting includes an upper abutment piece abutting against upper face portions of the two frame bodies, a lower abutment piece abutting against bottom face portions of the two frame bodies, an external thread member extending upward from the lower abutment piece and penetrating through the upper abutment piece and fastening the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece by screwing with an internal thread between the two frame bodies, and a snow guard portion extending upward from the upper abutment piece.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a snow guard structure for roof on which a solar cell panel is installed, and a snow guard fitting that is used for the snow guard structure.

Description of the Related Art

Generally, a structure for snow guard is provided on inclined roof in snowy areas in order to prevent snow accumulated on the roof from slipping down a roof surface and falling from the eaves. Such a structure is also required to be provided on roof on which a solar cell panel is installed and there is a structure in which a snow guard is integrally formed with a frame body holding an outer circumferential edge of the solar cell panel. However, when the snow guard is integrally formed with the frame body, the whole frame body needs to be replaced if the snow guard is damaged. Furthermore, the frame body including the snow guard and a frame body for a solar cell panel that is installed on roof requiring no snow guard need to be separately manufactured.

Meanwhile, provision of a snow guard through a member for fixing a solar cell panel onto roof has been proposed (see Japanese Patent No. 3776631). With the technique as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3776631, frame bodies of adjacently arranged solar cell panels are placed on long crosspiece members (rails) arranged in parallel at an interval on the roof. Furthermore, a supporting member arranged between the two frame bodies fixes the frame bodies to the crosspiece member. A cover covering the supporting member between the frame bodies is mounted on the supporting member and the snow guard is provided integrally with the cover. This technique provides an advantage that common frame bodies for the solar cell panels which are installed on roof requiring no snow guard can be used.

However, with the technique as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3776631, the snow guard is mounted on the crosspiece member using the supporting member. Therefore, an installation position of the snow guard is limited to a position on the supporting member and the number of snow guards is limited to the number of supporting members. The degree of easiness of the slip-down and falling of snow depends on various conditions such as snow accumulation amount, the inclination degree of the roof, the length of the roof in the roof inclination direction, and the roof facing direction. Some roofs such as roof facing a neighbor's site and roof facing a public road are required to prevent the slip-down and falling of snow with higher importance whereas others are required to prevent the slip-down and falling of snow with lower importance.

In view of this, a technique capable of providing the snow guard on the roof on which the solar cell panel is installed with high degree of freedom of the installation position of the snow guard and the installation number thereof has been desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a snow guard structure in which a snow guard fitting can be mounted on roof on which a solar cell panel is installed with high degree of freedom of an installation position and the installation number thereof, and the snow guard fitting that is used for the snow guard structure.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a snow guard structure according to an aspect of the invention is “a snow guard structure including a snow guard fitting which is mounted on roof on which solar cell panels are installed, wherein a first frame body holding a ridge-side end side of the solar cell panel arranged at an eaves side in the solar cell panels arranged adjacently on the roof and a second frame body holding an eaves-side end side of the solar cell panel arranged at a ridge side are fixed onto a roof surface such that spaces are formed under bottom face portions of the first frame body and the second frame body, and the snow guard fitting includes: an upper abutment piece having a first upper abutment portion abutting against an upper face portion of the first frame body at one end side, a second upper abutment portion abutting against an upper face portion of the second frame body at the other end side, and an upper connecting portion connecting the first upper abutment portion and the second upper abutment portion; a lower abutment piece having a first lower abutment portion abutting against a bottom face portion of the first frame body at one end side, a second lower abutment portion abutting against a bottom face portion of the second frame body at the other end side, and a lower connecting portion connecting the first lower abutment portion and the second lower abutment portion; an external thread member extending upward from the lower abutment piece and penetrating through the upper abutment piece and fastening the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece by screwing an external thread formed on an outer circumferential surface with an internal thread between the first frame body and the second frame body; and a snow guard portion extending upward from the upper abutment piece to be higher than upper face portions of the first frame body and the second frame body.”

Examples of the configuration of the “upper abutment piece” can include the configuration in which the first upper abutment portion and the second upper abutment portion are connected to each other by the upper connecting portion having a portion with a height different from those of the first upper abutment portion and the second upper abutment portion, the configuration that is formed by one flat plate, in which one end side of which corresponds to the first upper abutment portion, the other end side of which corresponds to the second upper abutment portion, and an intermediate portion of which corresponds to the upper connecting portion, and the configuration in which the first upper abutment portion and the second upper abutment portion are connected to each other by the upper connecting portion having a height equal to those of the first upper abutment portion and the second upper abutment portion, a portion abutting against a lateral face portion of the first frame body projects downward from the boundary between the first upper abutment portion and the upper connecting portion, and a portion abutting against a lateral face portion of the second frame body projects downward from the boundary between the second upper abutment portion and the upper connecting portion.

Examples of the configuration of the “lower abutment piece” can include the configuration that is formed by one flat plate, in which one end side of which corresponds to the first lower abutment portion, the other end side of which corresponds to the second lower abutment portion, and an intermediate portion of which corresponds to the lower connecting portion, the configuration in which the first lower abutment portion and the second lower abutment portion are connected to each other by the lower connecting portion with a portion having a height different from those of the first lower abutment portion and the second lower abutment portion, and the configuration in which the first lower abutment portion and the second lower abutment portion are connected to each other by the lower connecting portion having a height equal to those of the first lower abutment portion and the second lower abutment portion, a portion abutting against the lateral face portion of the first frame body projects upward from the boundary between the first lower abutment portion and the lower connecting portion, and a portion abutting against the lateral face portion of the second frame body projects upward from the boundary between the second lower abutment portion and the lower connecting portion.

Examples of the configuration of the “external thread member extending upward from the lower abutment piece” include the configuration in which the lower abutment piece has a through-hole and the external thread member extending from a head portion having a larger diameter than that of the through-hole is inserted through the through-hole from below, and the configuration in which a lower end portion of the external thread member is firmly fixed to the lower abutment piece.

Examples of the configuration in which the “external thread member” “fastens the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece by screwing an external thread formed on an outer circumferential surface with an internal thread” include the configuration in which the internal thread of a nut is screwed, from above the upper abutment piece, with the external thread of the external thread member penetrating through a hole provided on the upper abutment piece so as to fasten the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece, the configuration in which the internal thread is provided on the inner circumference of a through-hole of the upper abutment piece when the upper abutment piece is formed by one flat plate, and the external thread of the external thread member is screwed with the internal thread so as to fasten the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece, and the configuration in which a through-hole is formed on the upper abutment piece, a nut is firmly attached to the upper abutment piece such that an internal thread hole of the nut communicates with the through-hole, and the external thread of the external thread member is screwed with the internal thread hole so as to fasten the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece.

The “snow guard portion” can be configured to extend upward from the first upper abutment portion, the second upper abutment portion, or the upper connecting portion connecting the first upper abutment portion and the second upper abutment portion at the same height. In this case, it is needless to say that the snow guard portion is configured to extend upward to be higher than the upper face portions of the first frame body and the second frame body. Furthermore, the “snow guard portion” can be also configured to extend upward from the upper connecting portion with the portion connecting the first upper abutment portion and the second upper abutment portion at the height different from those of the first upper abutment portion and the second upper abutment portion. In this case, even in the case where the snow guard portion extends from a portion of the upper connecting portion, which has a height lower than those of the first upper abutment portion and the second upper abutment portion, the snow guard portion extends upward to be higher than the upper face portions of the first frame body and the second frame body.

The snow guard structure having the above configuration can be constructed in the following manner, for example. First, the lower abutment piece of the snow guard fitting is located between the first frame body and the second frame body such that the first lower abutment portion is located under the bottom face portion of the first frame body and the second lower abutment portion is located under the bottom face portion of the second frame body by gripping the external thread member extending upward from the lower abutment piece. When the width of the lower abutment piece (distance between a pair of lateral sides of the lower abutment piece, which extend in the direction toward the second lower abutment portion from the first lower abutment portion) is smaller than a space between the first frame body and the second frame body, the lower abutment piece is inserted into between the first frame body and the second frame body from above, and then, is made to rotate about an axis of the external thread member at a desired mounting position. With this manner, the first lower abutment portion and the second lower abutment portion are located under the corresponding bottom face portions of the first frame body and the second frame body. Alternatively, in a state where the first lower abutment portion and the second lower abutment portion are located at the positions lower than the corresponding bottom face portions of the first frame body and the second frame body, the external thread member extending from the lower abutment piece may be inserted into between the first frame body and the second frame body inward from the end sides of the first frame body and the second frame body and be made to slide to a desired attaching position. Subsequently, the first lower abutment portion and the second lower abutment portion are made to abut against the corresponding bottom face portions of the first frame body and the second frame body. Thereafter, the external thread member is made to penetrate through the upper abutment piece from below and the first upper abutment portion and the second upper abutment portion of the upper abutment piece are made to abut against the corresponding upper face portions of the first frame body and the second frame body. Then, the internal thread is screwed with the external thread of the external thread member so as to fasten the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece. With this, the snow guard structure in which the snow guard fitting is fixed to the first frame body and the second frame body can be constructed.

With the snow guard structure constructed as described above, the snow guard portion can prevent slip-down and falling of snow accumulated on the solar cell panels because the snow guard portion extends upward to be higher than the upper face portions of the first frame body and the second frame body holding the solar cell panels, respectively.

In the snow guard structure having this configuration, the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece fastened by the external thread member support the first frame body and the second frame body therebetween from above and below, so that the snow guard fitting is held on the first frame body and the second frame body. Accordingly, unlike the above-mentioned conventional technique, the snow guard structure in which the snow guard fitting is installed can be constructed independently of members for fixing the first frame body and the second frame body onto the roof surface in order to install the solar cell panels on the roof. With this, the installation position of the snow guard fitting and the installation number thereof can be set with high degree of freedom in accordance with various conditions such as snowfall amount in areas in which the solar cell panels are installed, inclination of the roof, the length of the roof, the roof facing direction, and the degree of importance for preventing the slip-down and falling of snow.

The snow guard fitting in the snow guard structure having this configuration is held on the first frame body and the second frame body by fastening the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece as separate bodies by the external thread member. Accordingly, the snow guard fitting is attached to various frame bodies having different heights so as to construct the snow guard structure.

Furthermore, the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece are fixed by being fastened by the external thread member. Therefore, fixing of the snow guard fitting to the first frame body and the second frame body is firm. Accordingly, the snow guard structure having this configuration is excellent in resistance to load of accumulated snow.

In addition, the snow guard fitting is configured so as to integrate the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece as the separate bodies with each other by the external thread member. The lower abutment piece can be located at the position lower than the bottom face portions of the frame bodies at a desired attaching position by being inserted from above so as to pass through between the two frame bodies or being inserted into and made to slide between the frame bodies inward from the end sides of the frame bodies in a state of being located at the position lower than the bottom face portions of the frame bodies, as described above. With this, the snow guard structure having this configuration provides an advantage that the snow guard fitting can be mounted on the frame bodies even after the two frame bodies are fixed onto the roof.

Furthermore, the snow guard fitting used in the structure capable of being attached to the first frame body and the second frame body only by fastening the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece by the external thread member is configured extremely simply. Therefore, the snow guard structure can be constructed extremely simply in comparison with the case where the snow guard fitting can be fixed to the frame bodies using screws, nails, or the like.

The snow guard structure according to the aspect of the invention can be configured such that “the lower abutment piece of the snow guard fitting has a maximum length between a pair of lateral sides extending in a direction toward the second lower abutment portion from the first lower abutment portion, which is smaller than a space between the first frame body and the second frame body” in addition to the above-mentioned configuration.

With this configuration, when the snow guard fitting is attached, the lower abutment piece can be inserted into between the first frame body and the second frame body from above at a desired attaching position. Therefore, operations can be performed more easily than the case where the external thread member is inserted inward from the end sides of the first frame body and the second frame body and is made to slide between the frame bodies in the state where the lower abutment piece is located at the position lower than the bottom face portions of the frame bodies. Furthermore, when the first frame body and the second frame body are fixed onto the roof surface by fixing members, the snow guard fitting can be attached to the first frame body and the second frame body even at a position between one fixing member and the adjacent fixing member.

The snow guard structure according to the aspect of the invention can be configured such that “the upper connecting portion of the snow guard fitting has a first lateral face abutment portion extending downward from the first upper abutment portion and abutting against a lateral face portion of the first frame body, a second lateral face abutment portion extending downward from the second upper abutment portion and abutting against a lateral face portion of the second frame body, and a connecting intermediate portion connecting the first lateral face abutment portion and the second lateral face abutment portion” in addition to the above-mentioned configuration.

With this configuration, the upper abutment piece includes the first lateral face abutment portion and the second lateral face abutment portion abutting against the corresponding lateral face portions of the first frame body and the second frame body in addition to the first upper abutment portion and the second upper abutment portion abutting against the corresponding upper face portions of the first frame body and the second frame body. That is to say, the upper abutment piece abuts against the two frame bodies from above and abuts against the lateral face portions of the frame bodies outward between the two frame bodies. With the abutment, even when external force is applied to the snow guard portion, the upper abutment piece does not rotate about the axis of the external thread member, and eventually, the whole snow guard fitting does not rotate about the axis of the external thread member. Therefore, the snow guard structure in which the posture of the snow guard fitting attached to the first frame body and the second frame body is stable can be constructed.

Furthermore, a snow guard fitting according to another aspect of the invention is a “snow guard fitting that is used for the snow guard structure according to the above-mentioned aspect of the invention, the snow guard fitting including an upper abutment piece having a first upper abutment portion at one end side, a second upper abutment portion at the other end side, and an upper connecting portion connecting the first upper abutment portion and the second upper abutment portion, a lower abutment piece having a first lower abutment portion at one end side, a second lower abutment portion at the other end side, and a lower connecting portion connecting the first lower abutment portion and the second lower abutment portion, a long bar-shaped external thread member having an external thread formed on an outer circumferential surface and fastening the upper abutment piece and the lower abutment piece by screwing the external thread with an internal thread, and a snow guard portion extending upward from the upper abutment piece.”

The snow guard fitting is that is used for the above-mentioned snow guard structure. The snow guard fitting having this configuration has an extremely simple configuration including the upper abutment piece having the snow guard portion, the lower abutment piece, and the external thread member fastening them, and can firmly fix the first frame body and the second frame body. Furthermore, the snow guard fitting can be easily detached from the first frame body and the second frame body by releasing the fastening by the external thread member. Therefore, the installation position of the snow guard fitting and the installation number thereof can be easily changed and the snow guard fitting can be easily replaced.

As described above, a snow guard structure in which a snow guard fitting can be mounted on roof on which a solar cell panel is installed with high degree of freedom of an installation position and the installation number thereof, and the snow guard fitting that is used for the snow guard structure can be provided as an effect of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a snow guard fitting1according to a first embodiment of the invention and a snow guard structure using the snow guard fitting1will be described with reference toFIGS. 1A and 1B, andFIGS. 2A to 2C.

The snow guard fitting1includes an upper abutment piece10, a lower abutment piece20, a long bar-shaped external thread member30, and a snow guard portion16. The upper abutment piece10has a first upper abutment portion11abutting against an upper face portion41of a first frame body40aat one end side, a second upper abutment portion12abutting against an upper face portion41of a second frame body40bat the other end side, and an upper connecting portion connecting the first upper abutment portion11and the second upper abutment portion12. The lower abutment piece20has a first lower abutment portion21abutting against a bottom face portion43of the first frame body40aat one end side, a second lower abutment portion22abutting against a bottom face portion43of the second frame body40bat the other end side, and a lower connecting portion23connecting the first lower abutment portion21and the second lower abutment portion22. The external thread member30has an external thread formed on the outer circumferential surface thereof and fastens the upper abutment piece10and the lower abutment piece20by screwing the external thread with an internal thread. The snow guard portion16extends upward from the upper abutment piece10.

Furthermore, the upper connecting portion of the upper abutment piece10of the snow guard fitting1includes a first lateral face abutment portion14extending downward from an end of the first upper abutment portion11, a second lateral face abutment portion15extending downward from an end of the second upper abutment portion12, and a connecting intermediate portion13connecting the first lateral face abutment portion14and the second lateral face abutment portion15.

To be more specific, the first upper abutment portion11of the upper abutment piece10has an elongated flat plate shape and the first lateral face abutment portion14extends downward from one long side of the first upper abutment portion11orthogonally. The flat plate-shaped connecting intermediate portion13extends toward the opposite side to the first upper abutment portion11from the lower end side of the first lateral face abutment portion14orthogonally. The second lateral face abutment portion15extends upward from the end side of the connecting intermediate portion13orthogonally to the same height as the first lateral face abutment portion14. The flat plate-shaped second upper abutment portion12extends toward the opposite direction to the connecting intermediate portion13from the upper end side of the second lateral face abutment portion15orthogonally. That is to say, the upper abutment piece10has such a shape that the upper connecting portion (the first lateral face abutment portion14, the connecting intermediate portion13, and the second lateral face abutment portion15) is recessed relative to both ends (the first upper abutment portion11and the second upper abutment portion12) as a whole. The snow guard portion16extends upward in a flat plate form from the upper end of the first lateral face abutment portion14, that is, the boundary between the first lateral face abutment portion14and the first upper abutment portion11. A circular through-hole17is provided at the center of the upper abutment piece10(center of the connecting intermediate portion13).

It should be noted that the upper abutment piece10is formed with metal integrally. For example, the integrally-shaped upper abutment piece10can be manufactured by cutting a long member, which is formed by extrusion molding of metal such as aluminum and having a single cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the axial direction, into a desired length.

The lower abutment piece20of the snow guard fitting1is formed by one flat plate made of metal so as to have a rectangle shape. One end side of the lower abutment piece20corresponds to the first lower abutment portion21and the other end side thereof corresponds to the second lower abutment portion22. The lower connecting portion23connects the first lower abutment portion21and the second lower abutment portion22at the same height (on the same plane). The length of the lower abutment piece20in the direction toward the second lower abutment portion22from the first lower abutment portion21, that is, the length of a pair of long sides of the lower abutment piece20having the rectangle shape is set to be larger than a space between the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b. Hereinafter, the space is referred to as an “inter-frame body distance”. On the other hand, the length of the lower abutment piece20in the direction orthogonal to the above-mentioned direction, that is, the length of a pair of short sides of the lower abutment piece20having the rectangle shape is set to be smaller than the inter-frame body distance. A circular through-hole27is provided at the center of the lower connecting portion23.

A head portion34having a larger diameter than that of the through-hole27of the lower abutment piece20is firmly attached to one end of the external thread member30of the snow guard fitting1. The outer diameter of the external thread member30is smaller than the diameters of the through-hole27of the lower abutment piece20and the through-hole17of the upper abutment piece10. Furthermore, the external thread member30that is sufficiently longer than the height of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b(height of lateral face portions42) is used. The snow guard fitting1includes a nut33having the internal thread that is screwed with the external thread of the external thread member30.

Next, a method for constructing the snow guard structure in the embodiment by attaching the snow guard fitting1to the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bwill be described with reference toFIGS. 2A to 2C.

The first frame body40aand the second frame body40bto which the snow guard fitting1is attached have the same configuration and are distinguished from each other only in a positional relation to the snow guard fitting1. To be more specific, each of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bhas the flat plate-shaped lateral face portion42extending vertically, the upper face portion41extending from the upper end of the lateral face portion42orthogonally, the bottom face portion43extending in the same direction as the upper face portion41from the lower end of the lateral face portion42, a lower holding portion44extending from the lateral face portion42in the same direction as the upper face portion41under the upper face portion41and holding the end side of the solar cell panel S between the lower holding portion44and the upper face portion41, and an inner wall portion45extending in parallel with the lateral face portion42and connecting the lower holding portion44and the bottom face portion43. It should be noted that each of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bis a long member having a single cross-sectional shape orthogonal to the axial direction and can be formed by extrusion molding of metal, for example.

The snow guard structure is constructed as follows. First, the first frame body40aand the second frame body40beach holding the solar cell panel S between the upper face portion41and the lower holding portion44are fixed onto the roof surface in a state where spaces are formed under the bottom face portions43.

Then, the snow guard fitting1is mounted. First, the external thread member30is inserted through the through-hole27of the lower abutment piece20from below. At this time, the external thread member30is put through a flat washer31apreviously. In a state where the head portion34is located under the lower abutment piece20and the front end side of the external thread member30extends upward from the lower abutment piece20, the lower abutment piece20is located above and between the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bat a desired mounting position by gripping a portion of the external thread member30, which extends upward from the lower abutment piece20. In this case, the direction of the short sides of the lower abutment piece20is set to the direction toward the second frame body40bfrom the first frame body40a(seeFIG. 2A).

The external thread member30is made to descend from the above-mentioned position and the lower abutment piece20is inserted into between the lateral face portion42of the first frame body40aand the lateral face portion42of the second frame body40bso as to be located below the bottom face portions43of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b. In this state, the external thread member30is made to rotate about its axis by 90 degrees. With this, the first lower abutment portion21is located under the bottom face portion43of the first frame body40aand the second lower abutment portion22is located under the bottom face portion43of the second frame body. Thereafter, the external thread member30is pulled up so as to cause the first lower abutment portion21to abut against the bottom face portion43of the first frame body40aand cause the second lower abutment portion22to abut against the bottom face portion43of the second frame body (seeFIG. 2B).

Then, the upper abutment piece10is made close to the external thread member30from above and the external thread member30is inserted through the through-hole17. Furthermore, the first upper abutment portion11of the upper abutment piece10is made to abut against the upper face portion41of the first frame body40aand the second upper abutment portion12is made to abut against the upper face portion41of the second frame body40b. In addition, the first lateral face abutment portion14is made to abut against the lateral face portion42of the first frame body40aand the second lateral face abutment portion15is made to abut against the lateral face portion42of the second frame body40b. Subsequently, the internal thread of the nut33is screwed with the external thread of the external thread member30penetrating through the through-hole17of the upper abutment piece10and extending upward from the upper abutment piece10. At this time, the external thread member30is put through a flat washer31band a spring washer32, and then, the nut33is fitted. Then, the nut33is firmly tightened to the external thread member30, thereby fastening the upper abutment piece10and the lower abutment piece20(seeFIG. 2C).

In this manner, the upper abutment piece10and the lower abutment piece20are fastened by the external thread member30so as to hold the first frame body40aand the second frame body40btherebetween from above and below. With this, the snow guard fitting1is fixed to the first frame body40aand the second frame body40band the snow guard structure in the embodiment is constructed.

That is to say, the snow guard structure in the embodiment is the snow guard structure including the snow guard fitting1which is mounted on the roof on which the solar cell panels are installed, wherein the first frame body40aholding a ridge-side end side of the solar cell panel S arranged at the eaves side in the solar cell panels S arranged adjacently on the roof and the second frame body40bholding an eaves-side end side of the solar cell panel S arranged at the ridge side are fixed onto the roof surface such that spaces are formed under the bottom face portions43of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b, and the snow guard fitting1includes the upper abutment piece10having the first upper abutment portion11abutting against the upper face portion41of the first frame body40aat one end side, the second upper abutment portion12abutting against the upper face portion41of the second frame body40bat the other end side, and the upper connecting portion connecting the first upper abutment portion11and the second upper abutment portion12, the lower abutment piece20having the first lower abutment portion21abutting against the bottom face portion43of the first frame body40aat one end side, the second lower abutment portion22abutting against the bottom face portion43of the second frame body40bon the other side, and the lower connecting portion23connecting the first lower abutment portion21and the second lower abutment portion22, the external thread member30extending upward from the lower abutment piece20and penetrating through the upper abutment piece10and fastening the upper abutment piece10and the lower abutment piece20by screwing the external thread formed on the outer circumferential surface with the internal thread between the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b, and the snow guard portion16extending upward from the upper abutment piece10to be higher than the upper face portions41of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b.

In order to fix the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bonto the roof surface such that the spaces are formed under the corresponding bottom face portions43, for example, a plurality of long crosspiece members60are arranged on the roof surface in parallel with the roof inclination direction. As illustrated inFIG. 6, the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bare mounted on the crosspiece members60using fixing members50.

The fixing member50will be described in detail. The fixing member50includes a spacer member51and a pressing member52. The spacer member51has a pair of leg plate portions51aplaced on the upper face of the crosspiece member60and a top board portion51bconnecting the upper ends of the pair of leg plate portions51a. The pressing member52includes a pair of elongated flat plate-shaped pressing portions52aabutting against the corresponding upper face portions41of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b, a pair of standing plate portions52bextending downward from corresponding inner end portions of the pair of pressing portions52aorthogonally, and a flat plate-shaped base portion52cconnecting the pair of standing plate portions52b. Through-holes51dand52dthrough which a bolt54penetrates are provided at the center of the top board portion51bof the spacer member51and at the center of the base portion52cof the pressing member52, respectively.

As the crosspiece member onto which the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bare fixed with the fixing member50having the above configuration, the crosspiece member60that is formed by an angular steel pipe and is provided with a slit60sextending in its axial direction on the upper face thereof can be used. The bolt54including a head portion54ahaving a larger diameter than the width of the slit60sand an external thread portion54bhaving a smaller diameter than the width of the slit60sis inverted and is inserted from an end portion of the slit60s. Thus, the bolt54is made into a state where the head portion54ais located in the slit60sand the external thread portion54bextends upward from the upper face of the crosspiece member60. The bolt54in this state is made to slide along the slit60sto a desired position at which the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bare fixed with the fixing member50.

Subsequently, the spacer member51is made into a state where the pair of leg plate portions51aface downward, and the external thread portion54bof the bolt54is inserted through a through-hole51dof the top board portion51bfrom below. Furthermore, the spacer member51is placed on the upper face of the crosspiece member60while the direction in which the pair of leg plate portions51aare separated from each other is made identical to the axial direction of the crosspiece member60. A nut55ais fitted to the external thread portion54bextending upward from the top board portion51band the spacer member51is thereby fixed to the crosspiece member60. In this state, the external thread portion54bof the bolt54further extends upward from the nut55a.

The first frame body40aholding the solar cell panel S is placed on the upper face of the crosspiece member60such that the lateral face portion42of the first frame body40aabuts against the outer side of the leg plate portion51alocated at the eaves side in the pair of leg plate portions51aof the spacer member51fixed to the crosspiece member60. Furthermore, the second frame body40bholding the solar cell panel S is placed on the upper face of the crosspiece member60such that the lateral face portion42of the second frame body40babuts against the outer side of the leg plate portion51alocated at the ridge side. Thereafter, the external thread portion54bextending upward from the nut55ais inserted, from below, through the through-hole52dof the pressing member52in a state of the base portion52cfacing downward. Then, one of the pair of pressing portions52aof the pressing member52is made to abut against the upper face portion41of the first frame body40aand one of the pair of standing plate portions52bis made to abut against the lateral face portion42of the first frame body40a. In addition, the other of the pressing portions52ais made to abut against the upper face portion41of the second frame body40band the other of the standing plate portions52bis made to abut against the lateral face portion42of the second frame body40b.

In this state, a nut55bis fitted with the external thread portion54bextending upward from the pressing member52. With this, the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bare fixed to the crosspiece member60so as to be pressed from above by the pressing member52. The bottom face portions43of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bare located to be higher than the roof surface by the height of the crosspiece members60between one crosspiece member60and the adjacent crosspiece member60, thereby forming the spaces under the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b.

It should be noted that the bolt54may be inserted into the slit60sof the crosspiece member60in a state where the bolt54temporarily fixes the spacer member51and the pressing member52by screwing the nuts55aand55bwith the external thread portion54bpreviously.

As described above, with the snow guard structure in the embodiment, the snow guard portion16extends upward to be higher than the upper face portions41of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bholding the solar cell panels S. Therefore, the snow guard portion16can prevent the slip-down and falling of snow accumulated on the solar cell panels S.

Furthermore, with the snow guard structure in the embodiment, the upper abutment piece10and the lower abutment piece20fastened by the external thread member30support the first frame body40aand the second frame body40btherebetween from above and below, so that the snow guard fitting1is held on the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b. Accordingly, the installation position of the snow guard fitting1and the installation number thereof can be set with high degree of freedom independently of members for fixing the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bonto the roof surface in order to install the solar cell panels S on the roof.

In addition, the snow guard fitting1has the configuration in which the upper abutment piece10and the lower abutment piece20as the separate bodies are integrated with each other by the external thread member30. Therefore, the snow guard fitting1can be installed at a desired position even after the two frame bodies are fixed onto the roof.

Furthermore, the lower abutment piece20of the snow guard fitting1has the rectangle shape and the short sides thereof are smaller than the inter-frame body distance. Accordingly, when the snow guard fitting1is installed, the lower abutment piece20can be inserted into between the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bfrom above at a desired attaching position. This enables an installation operation to be performed easily and enables the snow guard fitting1to be installed even between the fixing member50and the fixing member50for fixing the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bto the crosspiece member60.

With the snow guard fitting1, the distance between the upper abutment piece10and the lower abutment piece20that are fastened by the external thread member30can be varied within a range of the length of the external thread member30. This provides an advantage that the degree of freedom of the height of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bto which the snow guard fitting1is attached is increased. The length of the external thread member30can be set in accordance with the height of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bto which the snow guard fitting1is attached.

The snow guard fitting1can be attached to the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bonly by fastening the upper abutment piece10and the lower abutment piece20by the external thread member30. Therefore, the configuration of the snow guard fitting1is extremely simple and the snow guard structure can be constructed extremely simply in comparison with the case where the snow guard fitting can be fixed to the frame bodies using screws, nails, or the like.

In addition, the snow guard fitting1is firmly fixed to the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bby fastening the upper abutment piece10and the lower abutment piece20by the external thread member30. Therefore, the snow guard structure excellent in resistance to load of accumulated snow can be constructed.

Furthermore, the snow guard fitting1can be easily detached from the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bby releasing the fastening by the external thread member30. Therefore, the installation position of the snow guard fitting1and the installation number thereof can be easily changed and the snow guard fitting1can be easily replaced.

Moreover, the upper abutment piece10includes the first lateral face abutment portion14and the second lateral face abutment portion15abutting against the corresponding lateral face portions42of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b. With the abutment, even when external force is applied to the snow guard portion16, the upper abutment piece10is not deviated from the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b. Therefore, the posture of the snow guard fitting1is stable.

Next, a snow guard fitting2according to a second embodiment will be described with reference toFIGS. 3A and 3B. The snow guard fitting2in the second embodiment is different from the snow guard fitting1in the first embodiment in a shape of a lower abutment piece. A lower abutment piece20bof the snow guard fitting2includes a first projecting portion24and a second projecting portion25. The first projecting portion24extends upward from the boundary between the first lower abutment portion21and the lower connecting portion23and abuts against the lateral face portion42of the first frame body40a. The second projecting portion25extends upward from the boundary between the second lower abutment portion22and the lower connecting portion23and abuts against the lateral face portion42of the second frame body40b. Furthermore, a through-hole27bbored at the center of the lower abutment piece20bis a square hole having the inner circumferential sides of a pair of sides in parallel with a pair of lateral sides extending in the direction toward the second lower abutment portion22from the first lower abutment portion21and a pair of sides orthogonal to the sides. An external thread member30bincludes a square root portion30chaving a rectangular columnar shape on a base portion that is connected to a head portion34b. The square root portion30chas a square cross-sectional outer shape and has a size slightly smaller than the square formed by the inner circumference of the through-hole27b.

The snow guard fitting2having this configuration can be attached to the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bin the same manner as the snow guard fitting1. With this, the snow guard structure similar to the above-mentioned snow guard structure is constructed, thereby obtaining similar actions and effects. In addition, with the snow guard structure constructed using the snow guard fitting2, the first projecting portion24abuts against the lateral face portion42of the first frame body40aand the second projecting portion25abuts against the lateral face portion42of the second frame body40b. Therefore, even when the external thread member30bis tried to rotate in a state where the first lower abutment portion21and the second lower abutment portion22are made to abut against the corresponding bottom face portions43of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b, the lower abutment piece20bdoes not rotate. With this, an operation of fastening the lower abutment piece20bwith the upper abutment piece10by the external thread member30bafter the lower abutment piece20bis made to abut against the corresponding bottom face portions43of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bcan be performed easily. Furthermore, the lower abutment piece20babuts against not only the bottom face portions43of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bfrom below with the first lower abutment portion21and the second lower abutment portion22but also the lateral face portions42of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40boutward between the frame bodies with the first projecting portion24and the second projecting portion25. Therefore, a posture in which the snow guard fitting2is fixed to the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bcan be made more stable.

In addition, the through-hole27bof the lower abutment piece20bis square and the square root portion30cof the external thread member30bis fitted into the through-hole27b. Therefore, in a state where the external thread member30bis inserted through the through-hole27b, the lower abutment piece20brotates integrally with the external thread member30b. With this, in an operation of rotating the lower abutment piece20bin the direction of being inserted into the space between the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bby gripping the external thread member30band an operation of rotating the lower abutment piece20bwith the external thread member30bin order to make the lower abutment piece20babut against the respective bottom face portions43of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bafter the lower abutment piece20bis inserted to a position lower than the bottom face portions43in the space between the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b, the external thread member30bis prevented from spinning independently of the lower abutment piece20b. This can perform the operations easily.

Next, a snow guard fitting3according to a third embodiment will be described with reference toFIGS. 4A to 4CandFIGS. 5A to 5C. The snow guard fitting3in the third embodiment is different from the snow guard fitting1in the first embodiment in a shape of a lower abutment piece. A lower abutment piece20cof the snow guard fitting3has the configuration in which the first lower abutment portion21and the second lower abutment portion22are connected by a lower connecting portion with a portion having the height different from those of the first lower abutment portion21and the second lower abutment portion22. To be more specific, as illustrated inFIGS. 4A and 4B, the lower connecting portion includes a connecting intermediate portion23c, a first inclined wall24c, and a second inclined wall25c. The connecting intermediate portion23cis located at a position higher than the first lower abutment portion21and the second lower abutment portion22. The first inclined wall24cis inclined toward the first lower abutment portion21from the connecting intermediate portion23cand is connected to the first lower abutment portion21. The second inclined wall25cis inclined toward the second lower abutment portion22from the connecting intermediate portion23cand is connected to the second lower abutment portion22.

As illustrated inFIG. 4C, the outer shape of the lower abutment piece20cis parallelogram in planar view. A boundary line28abetween the first lower abutment portion21and the first inclined wall24c, a boundary line28bbetween the second lower abutment portion22and the second inclined wall25c, a boundary line28cbetween the first inclined wall24cand the connecting intermediate portion23c, and a boundary line28dbetween the second inclined wall25cand the connecting intermediate portion23care parallel with one another. A square through-hole27cis provided at the center of the lower abutment piece20c(at the center of the connecting intermediate portion23c) and the inner circumferential sides thereof are formed by a pair of sides parallel with the four parallel boundary lines28a,28b,28c, and28dand a pair of sides orthogonal to the sides. The external thread member30bhaving the square root portion30cis inserted through the through-hole27cin the same manner as the snow guard fitting2in the second embodiment.

In planar view, both of a distance (L1in the drawing) between a pair of lateral sides29aand29bextending in the direction toward the second lower abutment portion22from the first lower abutment portion21and a distance (L2in the drawing) between the boundary line28aand the boundary line28bare set to be slightly smaller than the inter-frame body distance (for example, by −2% to −5%). In addition, in planar view, a distance (R1in the drawing) between the center point P of the through-hole27cand an intersection P1of the lateral side29aand the boundary line28cas a smaller distance of distances to the two intersections of the pair of lateral sides29aand29band the boundary line28cfrom the center point P and a distance (R1in the drawing) between the center point P of the through-hole27cand an intersection P2of the lateral side29band the boundary line28das a smaller distance of distances to the two intersections of the pair of lateral sides29aand29band the boundary line28dfrom the center point P are set to be slightly smaller than the half of the inter-frame body distance (for example, by −0.3% to −1%). In the same manner, in planar view, a distance (R2in the drawing) between the center point P and an intersection P3of the lateral side29aand the boundary line28aas a smaller distance of distances to the two intersections of the pair of lateral sides29aand29band the boundary line28afrom the center point P and a distance (R2in the drawing) between the center point P and an intersection P4of the lateral side29band the boundary line28bas a smaller distance of distances to the two intersections of the pair of lateral sides29aand29band the boundary line28bfrom the center point P are set to be slightly larger than the half of the inter-frame body distance (for example, by +8% to +12%).

Attaching of the snow guard fitting3having the above configuration to the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bwill be described with reference toFIG. 5AtoFIG. 5C. First, in a state where the pair of lateral sides29aand29bof the lower abutment piece20care made parallel with the lateral face portions42of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b, the lower abutment piece20cis inserted into the space between the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bfrom above (seeFIG. 5A) by gripping the external thread member30binserted through the through-hole27c. The lower abutment piece20cis located such that the first lower abutment portion21and the second lower abutment portion22are lower than the corresponding bottom face portions43of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40band the connecting intermediate portion23cis higher than the bottom face portions43. In this state, the external thread member30bis made to rotate in the direction in which the intersections P1and P3further make close to the closer frame body (the first frame body40ain the drawing) of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b, thereby rotating the lower abutment piece20cwith rotation of the external thread member30babout its axis. The distance R1is smaller than the half of the inter-frame body distance and the distance R2is larger than the half of the inter-frame body distance as described above. Therefore, the lateral side29aof the first inclined wall24cand the lateral side29bof the second inclined wall25cabut against the lower sides of the corresponding lateral face portions42of the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b(seeFIG. 5B).

In this state, when rotating force in the same direction is further applied to the external thread member30b, the lower abutment piece20crotates such that the first lower abutment portion21gets into under the bottom face portion43of the first frame body40aand the second lower abutment portion22gets into under the bottom face portion43of the second frame body40bby being guided by the inclination of the lateral side29aof the first inclined wall24cand the inclination of the lateral side29bof the second inclined wall25c, respectively. The first lower abutment portion21can be made to abut against the bottom face portion43of the first frame body40aand the second lower abutment portion22can be made to abut against the bottom face portion43of the second frame body40b(seeFIG. 5C) by pulling up the lower abutment piece20cusing the external thread member30bfrom the above-mentioned state. Therefore, the snow guard fitting3can be attached to the first frame body40aand the second frame body40bby fastening the lower abutment piece20cand the upper abutment piece10by the external thread member30b.

With the snow guard fitting3, the snow guard fitting3can be attached to the first frame body40aand the second frame body40beasily by a guiding action by the inclinations of the lateral side29aof the first inclined wall24cand the lateral side29bof the second inclined wall25c. Furthermore, the snow guard structure similar to the above-mentioned snow guard structures can be constructed by attaching the snow guard fitting3to the first frame body40aand the second frame body40b, thereby obtaining similar actions and effects.

Although the invention has been described using the preferable embodiments as described above, the invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and various improvements and changes in design can be made in a range without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, the snow guard fitting2has the configuration in which the lower connecting portion23has the same height (is formed on the same plane) as those of the first lower abutment portion21and the second lower abutment portion22and the first projecting portion24and the second projecting portion25are not constituent components of the lower connecting portion23in the second embodiment. However, the snow guard fitting is not limited thereto and can be configured to include a lower connecting portion having the first projecting portion24, the second projecting portion25, and a connecting intermediate portion connecting the upper end of the first projecting portion24and the upper end of the second projecting portion25.