Patent Publication Number: US-2022231634-A1

Title: Corner piece for palletization of solar cell panels

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0006205, filed Jan. 16, 2020, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure relates to a corner piece for palletization of solar cell panels and, more particularly, to a corner piece for palletization of solar cell panels, wherein the corner piece prevents the stacked solar cell panels from colliding with each other when multiple completely manufactured solar cell panels are stacked, keeps the multiple stacked solar cell panels from shaking or being impacted when the stacked solar cell panels are transferred, and enables a solar cell panel having a frame fabricated with two types of sides having different widths to be interlocked on one corner piece. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     In general, a solar cell is a cell that converts sunlight into electricity by PN junction of a semiconductor, and it does not need to refuel. In addition, it has been known for a long time that a solar cell does not leave unnecessary fuel residues while making energy. 
     This solar cell panel includes a large solar cell plate made of glass, a metal frame covering the outer perimeter of the solar cell plate, and a solar electrode element gathering solar heat on a first side of the solar cell plate. 
     The solar cell panel is large and the solar cell plate is made of glass, so that the solar cell panels must be stacked on top of each other for storing and transferring same in large quantities during the production process. 
     When the solar cell panels are stacked in multiple layers as described above, if the solar cell panels are stacked without the corner piece, the frames of the solar cell panels are in direct contact with other frames, resulting in defects such as scratches or dents on the frames. 
     In addition, when transferring the stacked solar cell panels using a vehicle, etc., vibration and impact from the outside of the panel are directly transmitted to the solar cell panel, resulting in economic loss because of the damage to the solar cell plate made of glass. 
     To solve this problem, recently, corrugated cardboard having a certain thickness is laid at each corner of the frame forming the solar cell panel so that the stacked frames do not directly contact each other and the corrugated cardboard absorbs vibrations and impacts from the outside to prevent damage. However, the corrugated cardboard is only a temporary measure and does not solve the fundamental problem. 
     Also, when transferring the solar cell panels by a vehicle in a state of being stacked in multiple layers, in order to prevent the stacked multiple solar cell panels from being shaken, the solar cell panels are fixed by a fixing band. However, the fixing band has a problem that a solar panel frame may be dented because fixing band directly binds the frames of the solar cell panel. 
     In order to solve these problems, various types of corner pieces have been developed and used. 
     Among the conventional corner pieces as stated above, United States Patent Application Publication No. US 2011/0220598 has been introduced. 
     The conventional corner piece includes a right-angled corner part configured to cover two right-angled sides of a frame that constitutes a solar cell panel, at a corner of the frame, a support piece enabling the frame to be laid thereon, at a corner of a bottom surface of an inner side of the right-angled corner part, and a support part extended to the support piece, provided with a locking protrusion on the distal end thereof. When the corner piece is assembled at the corner of a rectangular shape, the two sides of the panel at the corner thereof will be covered with the corner piece and inserted into the corner piece by the support pieces located at the upper and lower sides of the corner piece, and the protrusion will be fixed on the inner side of the panel assembled by right-angles so that the corner piece does not separate arbitrarily from the panel. 
     However, the currently used solar cell panel  10  is one that is provided by connecting sides  20  of a frame having the same width to each other to become rectangular as shown in  FIG. 1A , or by connecting sides  20  and  20   a  of a frame having two different widths to each other to become rectangular as shown in  FIG. 1B . In the case of using the sides  20  of the frame having the same width as in  FIG. 1A , the locking protrusion can be tightly fixed on the inner side of the frame and can be stably coupled, but in the case of using the sides  20  and  20   a  of the frame having two different widths as shown in  FIG. 1B , the locking protrusion cannot be caught on the inner side of the frame because the width of the sides of the frame do not match. If a panel is constructed and produced only with the side  20  or the side  20   a  having the same width, there will be an economic burden because two types of corner pieces for each of the two types of sides of the frame with different widths have to be produced. In addition, even if the two types of corner pieces are produced as described above, it is inconvenient in handling because it is required to prepare the two types of corner pieces at a work site and to selectively use a corner piece that fits the width of the sides of the frame. 
     The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and is not intended to mean that the present disclosure falls within the purview of the related art that is already known to those skilled in the art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present disclosure is intended to conveniently interlock a solar cell panel having a frame fabricated with two types of sides having different widths by using one corner piece regardless of the different widths of the frame. 
     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a corner piece for palletization of solar cell panels, the corner piece including: a right-angled corner part configured to cover two right-angled sides of a frame that constitutes a solar cell panel, at a corner of the frame; a support piece enabling the frame to be laid thereon, at a corner of a bottom surface of an inner side of the right-angled corner part; a pressing piece extending inward from a top of the right-angled corner part in an integrated manner so as to press a top of the frame, and provided with a first locking protrusion placed at a lower side of a distal end of the pressing piece so as to be locked to an inner side of the frame; a fixing protrusion part protruding upward from the top of the right-angled corner part having a right-angled shape; and a concave hole formed in a lower surface of the right-angled corner part and enabling the fixing protrusion part formed on the top of the right-angled corner part of another corner piece to be inserted into the concave hole for combination of the corner pieces, wherein when stacking a solar cell panel which is fabricated with two types of sides of the frame having different widths, in order to be locked to the inner side of the frame regardless of the two types of sides of the frame differing in width, the lower side of the pressing piece having the first locking protrusion at the distal end of the pressing piece is also provided with a second locking protrusion for being locked to the inner side of the frame having a narrow one of the different widths, and wherein the second locking protrusion is formed at a lower side of a tension piece which is made to be elastically moved by tension force by cutting three sides of the pressing piece except one side thereof, so that when the first locking protrusion formed at the distal end of the lower side of the pressing piece is locked to the inner side of the frame, the tension piece is bent by the tension force, whereby the first locking protrusion formed at the lower side of the distal end of the pressing piece is locked to the inner side of the frame while the pressing piece is in contact with a top of the frame without being disturbed by the second locking protrusion formed at the lower side of a tension piece. 
     In addition, at the lower side of the pressing piece, the tension piece having the second locking protrusion is thinner than the pressing piece and the second locking protrusion has a height such that even when the second locking protrusion is positioned on the top of the frame and the tension piece is bent, the second locking protrusion is not exposed out of an upper side of the pressing piece, so there is no problem with stacking of the solar cell panels. 
     According to the present disclosure, when stacking the manufactured solar cell panel for storage and transportation, a corner piece assembled with each corner of the solar cell panel prevents the solar cell panel from colliding with each other, and the corner pieces that are interlocked up and down can make the solar cell panels stably stacked. Regardless of the width of the frame that has different two types, a fixing protrusion placed on the corner piece is fixed on the inner side of the frame, so the one corner piece can be used for a solar cell panel having a frame fabricated with two types of sides having different widths, the production cost of the corner piece can be lowered, and the work efficiency can be increased. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other objectives, features, and other advantages of the present disclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  are plan views showing a configuration of a solar cell panel, wherein  FIG. 1A  is a view illustrating a solar cell panel assembled with sides of a frame of the same width, and  FIG. 1B  is a view illustrating of a solar cell panel assembled with sides of a frame of different widths; 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a solar cell panel; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing the composition of a corner piece according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view showing configuration of the corner piece according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 4  taken along line A-A; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 4  taken along line B-B; 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  are plan views showing corner pieces according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein  FIG. 7A  shows a corner piece assembled with the sides of the frame having the same width, and  FIG. 7B  shows a corner piece assembled with the sides of the frame having different widths; and 
         FIGS. 8A and 8B  are cross-sectional views showing corner pieces according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein  FIG. 8A  shows a corner piece assembled with the sides of the frame of the same width, and  FIG. 8B  shows a corner piece assembled with the sides of the frame of different widths. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Hereinbelow, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals will refer to the same or like parts. 
     Before the description of the prevent disclosure, as shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B , and  FIG. 2 , a solar cell panel  10  is assembled in a rectangular shape with both ends of each side  20  of the frame or side  20   a  of the frame in contact with each other. The solar cell panel  10  includes a solar cell plate  30  and a solar electrode element (not shown). The solar cell panel  30  is made of glass and has a large area, and the outer perimeter thereof is inserted into an insertion hole  21  formed in the frame. The solar electrode element collects solar heat on one side of the solar cell panel. 
     The solar cell panel  10  forms a rectangular shape by using a frame having sides  20  in the same width as shown in  FIG. 1A . Otherwise, the solar cell panel  10  forms a rectangular shape by a frame having two types sides  20  and  20   a  differing in width as shown in  FIG. 1B . 
     According to the present disclosure, a corner piece  100  is to prevent direct contact between frames when the panels of the above-described configuration are stacked, are shown in  FIGS. 3 and 6 . 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing the configuration of a corner piece according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure,  FIG. 4  is a plan view showing the configuration of the corner piece according to the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure,  FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 4  taken along line A-A, and  FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 4  taken along line B-B. 
     The corner piece  100  according to the present disclosure includes a right-angled side part covering two surfaces of the corner of the frame that is formed by the sides  20  and forms a solar cell panel  10 ; a support piece  300  that enables the side  20  of the frame to be laid at the lower side of the inner side of the right-angled corner part; a pressing piece  400  that extending inward in an integrated manner from the upper side of the right-angled corner part to press the top of the side  20  of the frame, and provided with first and second locking protrusion  410  and  410   a  placed on the tip and the inner side on the lower side of the pressing piece  400 , respectively, to be fixed on an inner side of the sides  20  and  20   a  of the frame that formed at a right angle starting from the corner of inner side of the corner part  200 , the corner piece can adhere to the right-angled sides  20  and  20   a  of the frame. 
     The second locking projection  410   a  is located at a midpoint of a bottom surface of the pressing piece  400 , and is fixed on the inner side of the side  20   a  of the frame. A tension piece  420  made by cutting three sides of the pressing piece  400  is provided at the point where the second locking projection  410   a  is located, so that when the side  20  of the frame is used, the first locking protrusion  410  can be smoothly fixed on the inner side of the side  20  of the frame while the pressing piece  400  adheres to the top of the side  20  of the frame. When the second locking protrusion  410   a  is pressed up by the top of the frame, the tension piece  420  elastically moves upward. Therefore, the first locking protrusion  410  is fixed on an inner side of the side  20  of the frame because the pressing piece  400  maintains a status of adhering on the top of the side  20  of the frame without interference of the second locking protrusion  410   a.    
     The corner piece  100  also includes a fixing protrusion part  500  and a concave hole  600 . The fixing protrusion part  500  protrudes upward from the top of the right-angled corner part having a right-angled shape. The concave hole  600  is formed in the lower surface of the right-angled corner part. The fixing protrusion part  500  placed on the top of the right-angled corner part of another corner piece is inserted into the concave hole  600  for combination of the corner pieces. 
     The right-angled corner part  200  configured to cover two right-angled sides of the frame that constitutes the solar cell panel at a corner of the frame. 
     When stacking the solar cell panels, the corner piece  100  placed on the bottom and another corner piece (not shown) placed on the ground are fixed in a fastened manner by a fixing piece  700  so that corner pieces do not move arbitrarily. 
     The vertical surface portion  200  of the corner piece  100  of the present disclosure having the above configuration is pushed in contact with each corner of the side  20  of the frame, the lower side of the side  20  of the frame is placed on the support piece  300  located at the lower end of the right-angled corner part  200 , and the pressing piece  400  located on the top of the right-angled corner part  200  is placed on the top of the side  20  of the frame. 
     The first locking protrusion  410  and the second locking protrusion  410   a  are provided at the lower side of the pressing piece  400 . The first locking protrusion  410  is fixed on the inner side of the side  20  of the frame and the second locking protrusion  410   a  is fixed on the inner side of the side  20   a  of the frame. When the frame that forms the solar cell panel  10  has sides  20  in the same width, the first locking protrusion  410  is fixed on the inner side of each side  20  of the frame as shown in  FIG. 7A . In this case, as shown in  FIG. 8A , the second locking protrusion  410   a  provided on the middle portion of the lower side of the pressing piece  400  moves upward by the tension of the tension piece  420 , so that the second locking protrusion  410   a  is placed on the upper surface of the side  20  of the frame. 
     If panel  10  is composed of a frame having two types of sides  20  and  20   a  differing in width, the corner piece  100  is fitted to the corner of the frame constituting the panel  10 , as shown in  FIG. 7B . Accordingly, the first locking protrusion  410  formed at the lower surface of the distal end of the pressing piece  400  is fixed on the inner side of the wide side of the frame, and the second locking protrusion  410   a  provided on the pressing piece  400  is fixed on the inner side of the narrow side  20  of the frame. 
     In the above situation, the corner piece  100  is interlocked at each corner of the panel  10 , and a fixing protrusion  500  is provided on the top of the right-angled corner part  200  of the corner piece  100  interlocked at the corner of each panel  10 . The fixing protrusion  500  of the corner piece  100  is inserted into the concave hole  600  formed in the lower surface of the right-angled corner part  200  of another corner piece that is interlocked with the corner of another panel  10  to stack the panels  10  in several layers. Therefore, the corner pieces  100  interlocked with the corners of the panels  10  are stacked in order, so the stacked panels do not fall over during storage and transport. 
     Although a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure as disclosed in the accompanying claims.