WO2022238723A1

WO2022238723A1 - Set for motor activities and system for acquisition and processing of data detected by the set for motor activities and corresponding operating method

Info

Publication number: WO2022238723A1
Application number: PCT/HR2022/050002
Authority: WO
Inventors: Filip GRUBIŠIĆ ČABO; Damir SEFEROVIĆ; Ivan MRVOŠ
Original assignee: Include Ltd. For The Production Of Electrical Equipment
Priority date: 2021-05-12
Filing date: 2022-05-10
Publication date: 2022-11-17
Also published as: WO2022238723A8

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of production and assembly of photovoltaic composite seating beam, the seating beam itself as well the uses thereof. The photovoltaic composite seating beam comprises main load-bearing structure, semi-transparent or transparent top surface, photovoltaic module, elastic element, clamping element, lower side, cover and communication and energy cables, optionally with cooling device and heating bodies. The beam can be used as a stand-alone seating element, or it can be used as a composition of several beams, thus forming usable bench. The photovoltaic composite beam according to present invention is used as an interactive bench, accommodating various sensors and utilities, such as USB charger, temperature and noise sensors, wi-fi hot spot and the like.

Description

METHOD OF PRODUCTION AND ASSEMBLY OF PHOTOVOLTAIC COMPOSITE SEATING BEAM, THE SEATING BEAM AND THE USES THEREOF

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of production and assembly of photovoltaic composite seating beam, the seating beam itself as well the uses thereof. The beam can be used as a stand-alone seating element, or it can be used as a composition of several beams, thus forming usable bench.

BACKGROUND AND THE PRIOR ART

New technological paradigm includes ever more present independent communication and data processing between autonomous systems. This is also called Internet of Things (IoT), where different appliances and utility products interact between each other and/or central system.

One such product can be interactive bench, where bench can accommodate various sensors and utilities, such as USB charger, temperature and noise sensors, wi-fi hot spot etc. Bench utilities and sensors need a power source, which can be on-grid or off-grid. For off-grid systems, bench can have a photovoltaic system as a main power source.

The main issue with photovoltaic power sources on urban utilities is the fact that they need to be exposed to solar irradiance, and at the same time occupy as little space as possible. This is especially the case with benches since bench does not have too much additional space. Bench dimensions should not deviate significantly from preferred dimensions and therefore this is the main factor that influences price of the bench itself as well as the costs of the installation thereof. Several solutions are known in the state of the art, such as (CN 107280317A, W02017033065A1) which offer separated seating area with additional photovoltaic module on the side, which acts as a power source.

CN 107280317A discloses an outdoor intelligent photovoltaic seat powered by the lithium battery and differs from the present invention in the power used as well as other features related to the construction of the seating area. The bench disclosed in the W02017033065A1 is a single piece that comprises also at least one surface suited to serve as a backrest for one or more users, wherein said at least one photovoltaic panel is installed on the top of the backrest. 2

In comparison with present invention, these solutions take too much space, are expensive, and do not leave enough space for the primary purpose of the bench, that is sitting.

The solution most proven in practice is seating surface which acts also as a photovoltaic surface which is the main characteristics of the inventions disclosed in KR101704622B, KR20170057700A, KR1866509B1, CN202664844U and JP2001190359A. Although this solution is viable, it has several crucial drawbacks. Namely, in order for the seating area to protect the photovoltaic cells, the bench construction needs to be stiff. This is usually achieved via thick glass layers (KR1866509B1) and/or stiff and strong bench frame The frame elements need to be rigidly joined and prevent any kind of deflection in seating surface, because this deflection can break photovoltaic modules.

If photovoltaic module is freely placed inside the seating area, this can prevent deformation, but it requires additional space for the module, and requires good isolation from outside conditions, to prevent dust from entering photovoltaic module compartment.

For example, KR101704622B, discloses photovoltaic module inserted into a chamber and covered with seating surface, but again - general deflection of the seating surface is not possible, and this solution is rather expensive.

Moreover, majority of urban population perceive this type of benches as a foreign body in environment and users often perceive the photovoltaic bench as pure electrical appliance and hesitate to actually sit on it. This is even more pronounced since bench has robust rectangular shape (which is a result of accommodation of photovoltaic panel) which often does not fulfill aesthetic requirements of the user and by its design does not fit into spaces such as parks, walkways, cycling trails etc. This robust shape cannot be overcome using the abovementioned solutions known in the art.

Furthermore, users tend to avoid sitting on a large rectangular surface, since that surface cannot lean under them, and hence does not provide the desired amount of comfort. Also, users tend to stick to their habit and choose beam benches over rectangular surface ones, which is one of the reasons why photovoltaic powered benches do not yet have widespread usage they deserve.

Hence, there is a need for a simple yet efficient solution for producing a photovoltaic powered bench which will resemble typical transverse beam bench, and at the same time have all the advantages of photovoltaic powered bench. For this purpose, a viable solution of seating beam is needed, which can accommodate photovoltaic panel, have sufficient strength and stiffness 3 to withstand bearing loads and still look aesthetically pleasing with regards to its outside dimensions.

Present invention solves these technical problems by implementing the photovoltaic panel into the construction of seating beam in a floating manner. The photovoltaic panel is therefore flexible enough to bend in the deflection direction, and the panel also acts as a pressure bearing element. This flexible photovoltaic panel participates in bearing the pressure loads on the beam.

Consequently, the beam itself thus does not have to be rigid (it can have lower stiffness), and hence can provide the feeling of sitting on a traditional wooden beam, which is more acceptable to the users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 - Cross-section of composite seating beam

Figure 2 - Procedure for assembly of the photovoltaic composite seating beam Figure 3 - Pressing the clamp inside the beam

Figure 4 - Characteristic photovoltaic composite beam parts after the installation Figure 5 - Utility and service ports on photovoltaic composite seating beam

List of markings:

(1) top surface

(2) main load-bearing structure

(2) a groove

(3) photovoltaic module

(4) elastic element

(5) clamp

(5) a clamp relief

(6) lower side of the beam

(7) and (8) chambers 4

(9) lower cover

(10) working surface

(11) hole

(12) utility port

(13) service port

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Present invention describes the photovoltaic composite seating beam comprising: main load- bearing structure, semi-transparent or transparent top surface, photovoltaic module, elastic element, clamping element, lower side, cover and communication and energy cables, optionally with cooling device and heating bodies. The main load-bearing structure comprised in the photovoltaic composite seating beam, according to present invention is made of metal which can be selected from group comprising of: hot-dip galvanized steel sheet/alu- zinc/aluminium/stainless steel; or extruded plastics, wherein the material thickness is in the range of about 1.0 mm to about 2.5 mm; preferably around 1.5 mm.

Semi-transparent or transparent top surface according to the invention is made of plastics, polymer which can be selected from the group comprising: polycarbonate, PMMA, PVC, PS, PET or glass, wherein its thickness is in range of about 2.0 mm to about 6.0 mm, preferably in range of 3.0 mm to 4.0 mm.

Photovoltaic module according to the invention is laminated photovoltaic module, the photovoltaic module based on monocrystalline silicon technology (mSi), photovoltaic modules based on pSi, aSi, CdTe, CIGS, GaAs, Perovskite technology.

The photovoltaic beam according to invention, further comprises service ports which are used for installation of the utilities, and can also be used for mounting of the beam. Several beams could be interconnected with the cable, which can be used for communication and for power distribution.

The invention further discloses the method of assembly of the photovoltaic composite seating beam, comprises following steps: 5 a) main structure (2) is positioned on working surface (10) upside down and top surface (1) is inserted in a manner that groove on (1) fits on the upper opening of (2); b) placing of the photovoltaic panel (3); c) placing elastic element (4) on the photovoltaic panel (3) in a way that elastic element is pressing the middle of the panel; d) clamp element (5) is pressed into main structure (2) from lower side, while main structure (2) is upside down; e) installation of the lower side of the beam (6) by connected it directly to the clamps (5) by means of mechanical anchorage, bolts (or screws), rivets, welds (seams) or glue, preferably by bolts.

The method of assembly of the photovoltaic composite seating beam optionally comprises additional step of placing anti -reflective coatings and between top-surface (1) and photovoltaic panel (3).

The invention further discloses the use of a photovoltaic composite beam according to present invention as an interactive bench, accommodating various sensors and utilities, such as USB charger, temperature and noise sensors, wi-fi hot spot and the like.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The composite photovoltaic beam according to the invention is shown on FIG 1 with following elements:

(1) - the top surface is made of materials with sufficient optical permeability which can be a polymer (polycarbonate or PMMA, PVC, PS, PET or some other transparent or semi transparent plastic) or glass. Typical top surface thickness can range between 2 mm and 6 mm, preferably between 3 mm and 4 mm.

(2) - a main load-bearing structure made of metal (hot-dip galvanized steel sheet/alu- zinc/aluminium/stainless steel) or extruded plastics. Thickness of the material can be from 0.5mm to 4mm, preferably from 1mm to 2.5mm. Herein preferred material is steel sheet with thickness of 1.5mm. The width of load-bearing structure is defined by the dimensions of PV cells inside the beam. Width of the structure should preferably be from 5% to 20% larger than the width of used PV cells. More preferably, width of the structure should be from 10% to 15% larger, and herein proposed solution uses 11% larger width than that of the used PV cells. 6

Preferred dimensions of PV cells used in composite seating beam are 5 in x5 in, or 127 mm x 127 mm

Technology used to produce (2) needs is able to produce radii at the edges which are known in the art These radii should be between 0.8 mm and 4 mm, preferably between 1.2 mm and 3 mm. Herein used radii are 2.3 mm.

(3) - photovoltaic module laminated with a classical vacuum lamination process (or other commonly used bonding processes) on a flexible foil 0.2 to 1.5 mm thick. The foil can be based on PET, PVF, PC, PMMA, PVC or similar thin plastic. The photovoltaic module can be based on monocrystalline silicon technology (mSi), as well as other types of photovoltaic cells based on other technologies (pSi, aSi, CdTe, CIGS, GaAs, Perovskite, etc.). Photovoltaic cells are laminated on thin polymer foil in one row using a binding film that can be EVA, TPO, silicone binders, polyurethane binders, or an adequate type of binder. This lamination on plastic foil enables additional flexibility of crystal photovoltaic module, which is not the case with classical lamination on glass.

Glass can be used as a substrate for lamination of (3), and thick glass substrate should provide good mechanical stability. However, lamination technology based on curing in vacuum generally cannot be done on glass less than 2mm thick (and usually it's even thicker). This would result in (3) taking valuable space inside the beam. Also, since glass has high stiffness, assembly of such element would be difficult and whole beam should be wider, which would affect price, overall dimensions and functionality. The advantage of flexible photovoltaic module is that it can be mounted inside the beam by slightly bending it.

The photovoltaic module is mounted in a beam in such a way that the module in exploitation assumes only pressure loads. Bending loads, as well as buckling and torsional loads, are to high extent avoided by module's flexibility and by adequate position and type of an elastic element

(4).

As an option, photovoltaic cells can be directly laminated onto top surface (1), with binding film, and by additionally enhancing adhesive force. Enhancement of adhesive forces can be done with surface activation (plasma treatment, flame treatment) followed by application of adhesion promoter (commercial primer). This however puts partial load on the cells.

(4) - elastic element, whose function is to press the module (3) and top surface (1) inside the structure, by leaning on (5). The elastic element may be rubber, plastic, spring steel or similar 7 material. The material can have relatively high stiffness, in that case (5) will succumb to additional elastic deformation and act as an elastic element.

(5) - a clamp that pressures the elements (1), (3) and (4) and keeps them in place, is made of metal, i.e. structural steel. It can be made of any other material of adequate mechanical properties.

(6) - the lower side of the beam, leaning on (2) and on (5), additionally tightens and stiffens the whole beam. It is made of metal, i.e. hot-dip galvanized steel sheet or alu-zinc steel sheet, and can be made of any suitable material such as aluminium and its alloys, stainless steel, titanium and its alloys, various plastic materials, laminate such as fiberglass, carbon fibers, Kevlar, etc.

(7), (8) - chambers, which can be used for installation of equipment, utilities, power and communication cables, sensors or any other type of feature required by the end user. The chambers (7) and (8) can also be used for creation of thermal comfort, be it cooling via fans through the chambers, or heating with heaters in chambers.

(9) - lower cover, preferably sheet metal (or any other previously mentioned material), used for aesthetical purposes. This cover can be bolted, riveted, glued or otherwise connected to the lower end of the beam. If required, (9) can be modified and connected in a manner that it bears loads on the beam. Herein preferred mounting method is joining with two-side adhesive tape.

This invention further discloses method of production and assembly of a composite seating beam containing integrated photovoltaic module. Additionally, seating beam has space allocated for installation and connection of various hardware required for different functionalities.

This method of production and assembly enables simplified installation of photovoltaic module inside the seating beam, where photovoltaic module is easily accessible and can be changed in case of damage or breakdown.

Furthermore, the method enables preparation of standardized seating beam with full functionality with respect to production of electrical energy via photovoltaic effect, in which all additional hardware needed for required functionality can be installed when end user wants to, in a simplified manner. 8

The said method gives the possibility to pre-fabricate all parts on different working stations and to assemble the beam in a quick manner.

Preferred assembly procedure is as follows and is presented in Figure 2.

Main structure (2) is positioned on working surface (10) upside down and top surface (1) is inserted in a manner that groove on (1) fits on the upper opening of (2).

It is preferable to clean (1) from the inner side in order to let more solar irradiance through and to achieve better aesthetics. The aesthetical issue can be overcome with choosing of different optical properties of top surface (1), such as opaqueness, refraction index, scattering index or similar.

A loose fit between upper part of (1) and opening on (2) needs to be implemented, in order to enable thermal expansion of (1) inside (2) if these two are materials with dissimilar thermal expansion properties. Such two materials are per example PMMA (1) and plain carbon steel

(2), but can be any other two dissimilar types.

Similar types of materials could be per example PMMA (1) and PVC (2), or any two materials with similar thermal expansion properties.

Materials with thermal expansion properties herein defined as similar are two materials whose thermal expansion coefficient (of each material) do not differ from arithmetic mean of those coefficients by more than 15%.

Second assembly step is placing of the photovoltaic panel (3). Photovoltaic panel can be additionally cleaned prior to installation, with various cleaning agents. Various anti-reflective coatings and layers can be placed between (1) and (3) if deemed necessary.

Elastic element (4) is placed on the photovoltaic panel (3) in a way that elastic element is pressing the middle of the panel. This pressing can deviate on either side of the beam (left or right) and even be placed near the edge of (3), but space needs to be provided for (3) to thermally expand and contract sideways, with respect to the pressing area of elastic element. Furthermore, edges of (3) need to be clear of any fixing, so that (3) is only loaded on pressure force, and its sides are free to move.

Elastic element (4) can be glued or in other way joined to (3), but pure pressure force between

(3) and clamp element (5) is essentially enough to keep (4) in place. 9

Clamp element (5) is pressed into (2) from lower side, while (2) is upside down. The clamp can be installed only by application of outside force. Preferred installation method is as follows: One side of the clamp is placed underneath the groove (2a) which is positioned on (2), in a manner that clamp is acting as a lever reclined on elastic element (4). Free side of the clamp is then forced underneath the groove (2a). This requires hand press, or can be done by machine. Hand press is preferable because of better force control. The force needed depends of mechanical properties of elastic element (4) (stiffness, elasticity, etc.) and also depends of length and width of the clamp element (5). Herein preferred length and width of clamp element (5) are between 20% and 30% of beam length and between 90% and 99% of beam width respectively.

Clamp element (5) can also be installed by simultaneously pushing both ends of the clamp underneath the groove at the same time. This is not preferable because too much deformation can occur, and it requires additional inwards force on the grooves for them to return to original position after pressing the clamp. Preferred clamp installation is presented in Figure 3.

Length of clamp elements (5) depends of the beam length and number of clamps. Theoretically, number of clamps can be indefinite. Minimal number of clamps is two, but preferred number is more than three. Clamping can also be done with one clamp, but this is not preferred setup, because then disassembly of the beam becomes too difficult. Preferably, number of clamps should be between three and seven.

Disassembly of the clamps (5) is done by pressing a clamp on one side with the tool and pressing additional clamps around the one that is to be removed. Then, main structure (2) and groove (2a) are pulled sideways and the clamp is removed. This is repeated for all but the last clamp. When only one clamp is left in (2), the beam is already loose enough that the clamp can be disassembled via hand tools by pulling it outwards. This is the main reason why more clamps are preferred option.

Clamp element (5) can have additional relief (5a) on the edge. This relief can act as mechanical anchorage, and it can be paired with counter-relief made in (2). Purpose of this relief can also be precise positioning. Preferred relief height should not be more than two times the thickness of material used for clamp.

After clamp installation, top element (1) should achieve convex shape. The degree of convexity of (1) is determined by its thickness, mechanical properties and properties of elastic element (4). This type of setup is creating a pressure force from the clamps which is pre-loading the 10 elements (1), (2) and (4), and giving a composite whole. When beam is used, it will mostly be loaded on compression from the upper side, which is acting in a direction opposite of compression caused by (5). This way, composite beam will be able to withstand much more load from the upper side before it fails, with respect to conventional solutions, where there is no pre-stress inside the sitting beam.

Furthermore, the convexity of the top surface (1) (with respect to beam's width) is preventing the water to accumulate on the beam, which gives the beam self-cleaning property.

Lower side of the beam (6) is installed as a last part. This lower side pulls the clamps (5) slightly down and creates compact body (between (2), (5) and (6)) which can withstand both flexural and torsional loads. With installation of (6), convexity of (1) slightly drops, but is still enough to produce self-cleaning effect. Element (6) leans on the lower side of (2).

After installation of (6), composite beam can be observed as divided in two distinct segments, the upper one, used for seating and for electrical energy generation, and the lower one, which acts as a stiff supporting structure. This is presented in Figure 4.

Element (6) is connected directly to the clamps (5) by means of mechanical anchorage, bolts (or screws), rivets, welds (seams), glue or other joining methods. Preferred method is by bolts, because then the element (6) can be easily disassembled when needed and assembled again. Element (6) can also be directly connected to (2) to gain more stiffness, but herein proposed method of production and assembly does not include that variant. This connection can be realized by welding, gluing, bolting or in another appropriate manner.

With (6), composite seating beam with previously described preferred dimensions can withstand more than 80 kg per 500 mm of length. This means that a beam of preferred dimensions and materials which is 1500 mm long can withstand more than 250 kg of typical exploitation load.

The assembling of the elements, in the way shown in Figure 2, forms a single composite unit with sufficient torsional and flexural stiffness as if it were a compact body. The main novelty is the fact that the beam has sufficient mechanical properties achieved in such a way that there is no solid mechanical connection between beam components.

The joint between (1) and (2) may be sealed with a potting compound, sealing gasket or glue. In principle, the sealing of the beam is not necessary because the pressure produced by (4) prevents the penetration of water into the beam to a good extent, and convexity certainly 11 reduces the amount of water that can be capillary infdtrated inside the beam. This sealing can also be achieved by a type of labyrinth seal. In the assembly phase, element (1) should be at a temperature approaching the minimum operating temperatures. In this way, sealing is achieved under extreme conditions, while heating and thermal expansion of the element (1) compared to (2) will only increase convexity of the whole beam, without affecting mechanical stability. This mechanical stability is achieved by the fact that no elements are tightly fixed inside the beam, and all parts inside can float and reposition with respect to thermal expansion.

Chambers marked with (7) may be used to install communication and energy cables as well as to cool the beam with a fan, which can be powered by the battery inside the beam, directly from the photovoltaic module or from an external electricity source. The chamber (7) may also contain heating bodies, powered by an external electricity source, which increases the level of comfort when sitting on a cold beam.

Chamber (8) can be designed in the water penetration protection class, so that the sensitive equipment can be installed. This chamber can also be used to upgrade the beam with additional elements.

The thickening of groove (2a) on which element (5) is leaned can be made by machining cutting, extruding material by means of a matrix or cold sheet deformation (forging, pressing, bending). Also, the thickening can be made by welding or gluing segments in order to obtain a thicker wall. The thickness of this thickening (i.e. the geometric space it occupies) plays an important role in the overall bearing capacity of the beam.

The beam can have service ports which are used for installation of the utilities, and also can be used for mounting of the beam. Several beams are interconnected with the cable, which can be used for communication and for power distribution. One variation of such setup can be seen in Figure 5.

Here,

(11) is a hole that can be used for mounting of the beam, or for cable connection. Several holes can be used.

(12) can be an utility port for different types of sensors, while

(13) can be a service port used for sensor positioning, as well as for assembly and maintenance. 12

The solution -smart interactive bench according to present invention is shown in Figure 6B where state of the art intelligent bench is shown in Figure 6A.

Claims

13

CLAIMS The photovoltaic composite seating beam comprising of main load-bearing structure, semi-transparent or transparent top surface, photovoltaic module inside a structure, elastic element, clamping element, lower side, cover and communication and energy cables, optionally with cooling device and heating bodies. A photovoltaic composite seating beam according to claim 1, wherein the main load- bearing structure is made of metal which can be selected from group comprising: hot- dip galvanized steel sheet/alu-zinc/aluminium/stainless steel; or extruded plastics, wherein the material thickness is in the range of about 1.0 mm to about 2.5 mm; preferably around 1.5 mm. A photovoltaic composite seating beam according to claim 1 or 2, wherein semi transparent or transparent top surface is made of plastics, polymer which can be selected from the group comprising: polycarbonate, PMMA, PVC, PS and PET, or glass, wherein its thickness is in range of about 2.0 mm to about 6.0 mm, preferably in range of 3.0 mm to 4.0 mm. A photovoltaic composite seating beam according to claim 1-3, wherein the photovoltaic module is laminated photovoltaic module laminated on elastic substrate, the photovoltaic module based on monocrystalline silicon technology (mSi), photovoltaic modules based on pSi, aSi, CdTe, CIGS, GaAs, Perovskite technology. The method of assembly of the photovoltaic composite seating beam according to claims 1-4, comprising following steps: a) main structure (2) is positioned on working surface (10) upside down and top surface (1) is inserted in a manner that groove on (1) fits on the upper opening of (2); b) placing of the photovoltaic panel (3); c) placing elastic element (4) on the photovoltaic panel (3) in a way that elastic element is pressing the panel; d) clamp element (5) is pressed into main structure (2) from lower side, while main structure (2) is upside down; 14 e) installation of the lower side of the beam (6) by connecting it directly to the clamps (5) by means of mechanical anchorage, bolts (or screws), rivets, welds (seams) or glue, preferably by bolts. The method of assembly of the photovoltaic composite seating beam according to claim 5 comprising additional step of placing anti-reflective coatings and between top-surface (1) and photovoltaic panel (3). The method of assembly of the photovoltaic composite seating beam according to claim 5 or 6, wherein chamber (7) is provided with communication and energy cables, optionally with cooling device and heating bodies. The use of a photovoltaic composite beam according to claims 1-4 as an interactive bench, accommodating sensors and utilities, preferably USB charger, temperature and noise sensors and wi-fi hot spot, where all sensors and utilities can be positioned inside the seating beam. The use of the seating beam according to claims 1-4 as a building element for various types of interactive benches, in various setups, where seating beam (or multiple beams) simultaneously fulfils at least three tasks, which are power generation, seating surface and sensors and utilities accommodation.