Regulation 3.2 Revised 2/98 AUSTRALIA Patents Act, 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION TO BE COMPLETED BY THE APPLICANT NAME OF APPLICANT: Autumn Solar Installations Pty Limited (ACN 050 061 151) ACTUAL INVENTOR: Stephen Lawrence Merrett ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: Peter Maxwell and Associates Level 6 60 Pitt Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 INVENTION TITLE: SOLAR PANEL DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION NO: 2006 902 028 - 19 April 2006 - Australia The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us: m:\docs\20071005\1 14772.doc 2 SOLAR PANEL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to solar panels and, in particular, to an insulated solar panel for supplying heated, recirculated water to a swimming 5 pool. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Swimming pools may be heated by recirculating pool water through one or more solar panels made of black rubber tubing or the like laid on a roof and 10 exposed to the sun and other elements. Rubber and, to a lesser extent, plastic are the materials of choice for the tubing as they are resistant to corrosion by salt carried in the pool water and, unlike copper tubing, do not leave a stain in the pool. However, in order to effectively heat an average pool, the surface area of solar panelling required should, according to Australian Standards, be 15 70% of the total surface area of the pool. For instance, if an average pool has a surface area of 40 M 2 , then the surface area of solar panelling required to be installed on a roof will be 28 M 2 . This is a relatively large proportion of the roof devoted to supporting solar panelling for a pool, and may be unsightly and problematic to maintain. Furthermore, such a large surface area of solar 20 panelling, being exposed to the elements, may deteriorate over time and, particularly where the solar panelling is made of rubber, is a target for cockatoos and some other birds who enjoy pecking at, or even eating, the rubber material. Still further, the exposed solar panelling may be subject to the cooling effects of wind or frost, thereby prolonging the time required for the 25 water recirculating through the tubing to attain the desired temperature. 4 A f'InIn-7 3 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to overcome, or at least substantially ameliorate, the shortcomings and disadvantages of the prior art. 5 According to the invention, there is provided a solar panel assembly for a roof, comprising: (a) a plurality of solar panels, each solar panel comprising, (i) tubing through which water from a swimming pool is recirculated, the tubing being adapted to be exposed to the sun 10 for heating the water to a temperature whereby the pool is heated; (ii) a housing for the tubing, the housing having a transparent screen covering the tubing, the arrangement being such that the housing retains heat therewithin for increasing the temperature of 15 the tubing above that outside the housing; (iii) a tubular member having a header portion and opposed end portions, the header portion being located within the housing and each end portion protruding outwardly from a respective side wall of the solar panel so as to define an opening at the side wall, 20 the end portions being in liquid flow communication with the header portion, and the header portion being in liquid flow communication with the tubing so that heated, recirculating water passing through the tubing may exit the solar panel through a first said opening and unheated, recirculating water passing through a 25 second said opening may enter the solar panel for heating, and (b) a barrel union interconnecting adjacent pairs of the plurality of solar panels, the barrel union having identical opposite ends, each end 4 engaging a respective end portion of a tubular member at the outside of a side wall of a respective housing, so as to allow heated, recirculating water to pass from the tubing in a first solar panel of an adjacent pair to the tubing in a second solar panel of the adjacent pair. 5 Preferably, each solar panel further includes insulating material located within the housing and upon which the tubing is supported. It is preferred that the housing further includes a tray upon which the insulating material is supported. In a preferred form, the housing further includes a rubber seal between 10 the transparent screen and the tray, and clamp means for clamping together the transparent screen and the tray along the rubber seal. The transparent screen is preferably made of clear acrylic or toughened glass. The tray may be made of aluminium or polypropylene. 15 The tubing may be made of EPDM rubber or PVC plastic. SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an assembly of solar panels according to a preferred embodiment of the invention mounted to a roof. 20 Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an isolated solar panel from the assembly shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional side view through 111-111 of the solar panel shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectional end view through IV-IV of the solar panel shown in 25 Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the solar panel shown in Fig. 2 and external tubing therefor.
4a Fig. 6 is a top view of the solar panel assembly shown in Fig. 1 illustrating the direction of flow of recirculating water. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE 5 INVENTION The solar panel 10 shown isolated or as part of an assembly of solar panels in Figs. 1 to 6 includes ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber tubing 12 (although polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastic tubing may alternatively be used) formed as a mat and providing a passageway for 10 recirculating water from a swimming pool that is desired to be heated by heat radiating from the sun and impacting on the solar panel when mounted on a roof.
5 The tubing 12 is surrounded by a housing 14. The housing 14 includes, in this embodiment, a transparent screen 16 covering the tubing 12, and which is made of clear acrylic (although toughened glass may alternatively be used). The solar panel includes insulating material 18 located within the 5 housing 14 (see especially Fig. 5) and upon which the tubing 12 is supported. The housing 14 further includes an aluminium tray 20 (although a polypropylene tray may alternatively be used) upon which the insulating material 18 is supported, and a rubber seal 22 between the transparent screen 16 and the tray 20. 10 A set of aluminium clamps 24 are used to clamp together the transparent screen 16 and the tray 20 along the rubber seal 22. A plurality of the solar panels 10 are interconnected to form an assembly of solar panels which are mounted to a roof as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. The solar panels 10 are laid side by side on the roof and are interconnected by a 15 modular connection pipe 30 fitted between openings 32 at respective side walls of adjacent panels. In this embodiment, each opening 32 is defined by a tubular member that extends outwardly from its respective side wall, the tubular member 32 being in liquid flow communication with a longer tubular portion 34 located within the housing 14. Connected to each tubular portion 34, via 20 suitable fittings, is the tubing 12, so that heated, recirculating water passing through the tubing may exit the solar panel through the tubular member 32, and unheated, recirculating water passing through the tubular member 32 may enter the solar panel for heating. Each modular connection pipe 30, also referred to as a barrel union, has 25 an end suited to engaging a respective tubular member 32 of a solar panel 10. Engagement is facilitated by rubber sealing means and a tight interference fit between inter-engaging male and female contact surfaces. -4 A It'fl"fle7 6 Without being limited thereto, the approximate dimensions of the solar panel 10 are 600 mm in width (or end dimension), 2 metres in length (or side dimension), and 70 mm in height. The insulated, protected environment for the tubing 12 created by the housing 14 allows the ambient air temperature 5 therewithin to be between about 100 C and 150 C higher than the ambient air temperature immediately surrounding the tubing that is exposed to the elements when water is circulating through the tubing 12. This provides the advantage that, whereas the surface area of exposed solar panels necessary on a roof to achieve effective heating according to the Australian Standard of 10 an average pool is 28 M 2 , the surface area of insulated, protected solar panels according to this invention for the same purpose is 14 m 2 , which is 50% of the recommended coverage according to the Australian Standard, being a saving of an area of 14 m 2 of roof space, and thus requiring fewer solar panels to be used. 15 It will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in details of design and construction of the solar panel and of the assembly of solar panels described above without departing from the scope and ambit of the invention. 20