Modular roof covering element, modular roof covering, and roof

Abstract

Roof (2), at least in part covered by a modular roof covering, said modular roof covering comprising a plurality of modular elements (1) for covering said roof, wherein the plurality of elements is arranged such that at least part of a roof is fully covered by the plurality of elements, and wherein each element is coupled via coupling means to at least one adjacent further element of the plurality of elements, and the roof having sloped rafters (4) extending mutually parallel to a roof ridge, wherein the plurality of elements is directly mounted onto rafters, wherein preferably each element is supported, in a direction transverse to the rafters, onto two neighboring rafters.

Claims

1. A roof, at least in part covered by a modular roof covering, said modular roof covering comprising a plurality of modular elements for covering said roof, wherein each modular element comprises: a box-shaped container having an interior, an at least substantially flat bottom wall which in use faces the roof, and being open on an upper side, and being at least substantially made of a polymer, a photovoltaic element which is disposed within the interior of the container, a cover for covering said open upper side, and being connected to the container, wherein the cover is light transparent to such an extent that in use electrical power can be generated by the photovoltaic cell due to incident sunlight, and interlocking coupling elements for coupling each of the modular elements to at least one of the roof or to a further modular element, for covering a roof with the plurality of modular elements, wherein the plurality of modular elements is arranged such that at least part of the roof is covered by the plurality of modular elements, and wherein each modular element is coupled via the interlocking coupling element to at least one adjacent further modular element, and the roof having sloped rafters extending mutually parallel to a roof ridge, wherein the plurality of modular elements is directly mounted onto the sloped rafters, and wherein each modular element is supported, in a direction transverse to the rafters, onto two neighboring rafters, wherein in each modular element the container has an opening in two opposite side walls extending from the bottom wall to the cover, such that in use air can flow through the container.

2. The roof according to claim 1, wherein in the modular element the cover is releasably connected to the container.

3. The roof according to claim 1, wherein in the modular element the polymer is a polyolefin.

4. The roof according to claim 1, wherein in the modular element the polymer is a reinforced polymer.

5. The roof according to claim 1, wherein the cover comprises PMMA (Poly(methyl methacrylate)), a polycarbonate, PET, polypropylene, or polyethylene.

6. The roof according to claim 1, wherein the interlocking coupling element of a modular element is configured for a form-closed coupling of the element to a further element.

7. The roof according to claim 1, wherein in the modular element the photovoltaic element comprises at least one of a plurality of photovoltaic cells which are placed on an upper surface, facing the interior, of the bottom wall of the container; and a plurality of photovoltaic cells fixed onto a flexible sheet, the sheet being suspended within the interior of the container.

8. The roof according to claim 1, wherein the interior of the container is fully surrounded by walls of the container and by the cover.

9. The roof according to claim 1, wherein an air gap is present in between the cover and the container.

10. The roof according to claim 1, wherein the opening in the two opposite side walls is such that in use air can flow through the interior.

11. The roof according to claim 1, wherein in the modular element the cover has, on an outer, upper side, the shape of a pattern of roof tiles.

12. The roof according to claim 1, wherein at least one modular element comprises: a supporting carrier having a first side and a second side, wherein said corresponding photovoltaic element is disposed on the first side of the supporting carrier and arranged for generating electrical power by a direct current voltage from the incident sunlight; a micro converter, connected to the photovoltaic element and arranged for converting the direct current voltage to an alternating current voltage; inductive coupling device, comprising: a supply coil connected to the micro converter, and a pickup coil disposed at or near the second side of the supporting carrier and inductively coupled to the supply coil for transferring the electrical power.

13. The roof according to claim 12, wherein the supporting carrier, the photovoltaic element, the micro converter and the supply coil are disposed within the interior of the box-shaped container, wherein the second side of the supporting carrier faces a bottom side of the box-shaped container.

14. The roof according to claim 13, wherein the inductive coupling device further comprises a core, wherein the core is penetrating the bottom side of the box shaped container, and wherein the supply coil is wound around the core within the interior of the box-shaped container and the pickup coil is wound around the core outside the interior of the box-shaped container.

15. The roof according to claim 13, wherein the supporting carrier, the photovoltaic element, and the micro converter are exchangeably disposed in the interior of the box-shaped container.

16. The roof according to claim 12, wherein the at least one modular element further comprises a converter connected to the pickup coil and arranged for transporting the inductively coupled electrical power.

17. The roof according to claim 16, wherein the converter is configured to convert an alternating current voltage inductively coupled to the pickup coil to a direct current voltage.

18. The roof according to claim 13, wherein the pickup coil is mounted on the bottom side of the box-shaped container.

19. The roof according to claim 1, wherein the cover is for at least covering a majority of said open upper side.

20. The roof according to claim 1, wherein the interlocking coupling elements comprise a rib, a groove, or a combination comprising at least one of the foregoing.

Description

(1) The present invention will now be explained in more detail by a description of several preferred embodiments of modular roof covering elements according to the present invention, with reference to the enclosed schematic figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows in sectional view a first embodiment of a modular element according to the invention,

(3) FIG. 2 shows a combination of two elements as shown in FIG. 1,

(4) FIG. 3 shows in sectional view a second embodiment of a modular element according to the invention,

(5) FIG. 4 shows in sectional view a third embodiment of a modular element according to the invention,

(6) FIG. 5 shows in sectional view a fourth embodiment of a modular element according to the invention,

(7) FIG. 6 shows in sectional view a fifth embodiment of a modular element according to the invention,

(8) FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of an electrical circuit for a photovoltaic element assembly comprising the concept of inductive coupling for transferring the generated electrical power,

(9) FIG. 8 shows a sectional view of an embodiment of a photovoltaic element assembly according to the present invention, and

(10) FIG. 9 shows in sectional view of another embodiment of a photovoltaic element assembly according to the invention.

(11) FIG. 1 shows a modular roof covering element 1. Element 1 is arranged for covering a roof 2 with a plurality of elements 1. The roof 2 comprises a plurality of mutually parallel, sloped rafters 4 which extend from a lower end of the roof 2 up to a roof ridge element such as a ridge beam. The sectional view is in transverse direction of the rafters, i.e. in horizontal direction of the roof 2. Ceiling plates 6 are mounted onto an underside of the rafters 4, which underside faces an interior of the building of which the roof 2 forms part. Between the rafters 4, above the ceiling plates 6 and below the element 1, an heat isolation element 9 is provided, for example of EPS, for increasing the isolation property of the roof 2. Use of such isolation elements 9 is optional within the scope of the present invention.

(12) The modular roof covering element 1 comprises a box-shaped container 10 having an interior 12 and a rectangular, flat bottom wall 14 which in use faces the roof 2. The container 10 is open on an upper side. The element 1 comprises a cover 16 for covering said open upper side. The cover 16 is releasably connected to the container 10 by means of a snap connection, which is not shown in detail in the figures. Alternatively, the cover 16 may be connected to the container 10 in a permanent manner such as by plastic welding. The container 10 has on the four sides of the rectangular bottom wall 14 a side wall, of which side walls 18 and 19 are shown in FIG. 1, which side respective side wall extends upwards from the bottom wall 14 to the cover 16. The height and the shape of the upper, free edge of the respective side walls 18, 19 is configured such that each side wall 18, 19 connects to the cover 16 so that the interior 12 is fully surrounded by the bottom wall 14, side walls 18 and the cover 16. The cover 16 is shaped so as to resemble a pattern, in two directions, of roof tiles. The bottom wall 14 and side walls 18 of container 10 are formed as one piece using injection moulding, of glass fibre reinforced polypropylene. The material of the container 10 is fire retardant and heat resistant. The container 10 may in an embodiment comprise a foamed core. Alternatively the container may be made using extrusion, whereby side walls perpendicular to walls 18 and 19 may be provided as separate components fixed onto the extruded part of the container comprising the bottom wall 14 and side walls 18 and 19.

(13) The element 1 has coupling means for coupling the element 1 to a further element 1, for covering the roof with the plurality of elements. The coupling means comprise ribs 20, 22, 26 and grooves 24. On a first side, the left side in FIG. 1, a rib 20 is provided on the left side wall 18, which rib 20 is oriented sideways. A groove 24 is provided in the side wall 19 on the right side in FIG. 1, such that in mounted condition of a plurality of elements 1 on a roof, a rib 20 engages a groove 24 of a further element 1, as is shown in FIG. 2. At the edge between the right side wall 19 and the bottom wall 14, a rib 26 is provided which extends downwards, which is arranged to engage a groove 28 in an upper side of a rafter 4. At the edge between the left side wall 18 and the bottom wall 14 a rib 22 is provided which extends sideways parallel to the rib 20. Rafters 4 are provided with a groove 30 at a side thereof. Ribs 22 are arranged to engage grooves 30. As can be derived from FIG. 2, in which two elements 1 are shown in mounted condition, upon placing the elements 1 onto a roof 2, a first, left element can be placed with its rib 22 engaging the groove 30 of rafter 4, and its rib 26 engaging the groove 28 of rafter 4. Next, a second, right element 1 can be placed by first placing it onto rafter 4 so that the ribs 20 and 22 engage with groove 24, of the left element 1, and groove 30, of rafter 4, respectively. Next, the element 1 is lowered onto rafter 4 so that rib 26 engages groove 28 of rafter 4. This method can be repeated by placing a further element 1 on the right side of the mentioned right element 1 as shown in FIG. 2. By doing so, a form-closed interlocking coupling is provided between adjacent elements 1 and the roof rafters upon placing the plurality of elements onto a roof. A coupling between two adjacent elements 1 in the vertical, or, sloping, direction of the roof 2 can be provided by sliding a first element 1 with a portion of its cover 16 extending beyond a side wall perpendicular to side walls 18 and 19, over or under a portion of a cover 16 of a further element 1 of the plurality of elements, which also extends beyond a side wall of that further element 1 so as to realise an overlap between the respective covers of said two adjacent elements. The combinations of ribs and grooves 20, 24 and 26, 28 also form drains for draining rain water to a roof gutter. I.e. they form a seal element preventing, at least to a large extent, that fluids such as rain water may pass to underneath the elements 1.

(14) The passage between the bottom wall 14 of the element 1 and the isolation element 9 forms, in a mounted condition of a plurality of such elements, a duct along and underneath several elements, extending parallel to the rafters 4. As a result, the PV elements within the interiors 12 of the elements 1 can be cooled using e.g. forced air, or, alternatively, by an air flow which will be present due to heated air flowing upwards through the duct towards the ridge.

(15) A photovoltaic element (further referred to as PV element), formed by a pattern of solar cells mounted on a carrier (details not shown), is placed within the interior 12 of the element 1. Although the PV element is drawn at a small distance from the bottom wall 14, the PV element is in fact fixed onto the bottom wall 14 of the container 10 by means of an adhesive. The PV element and it's electrical configuration is further explained below with reference to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. Due to the enclosed interior 12 of the element 1 as explained above, the PV element can be kept free from exterior influences such as moist and dirt.

(16) The cover 16 is made of polycarbonate and is light transparent to such an extent, such as about 80 percent, that in use electrical power can be generated by the PV element due to incident sunlight.

(17) FIG. 3 shows a modular roof covering element 100 as a second embodiment of a roof covering element according to the present invention. Identical components in comparison with element 1 are referred to with the same reference numbers. Components which are the same, at least in function, to components of element 1 as described above, are referred to with reference numbers to which 100, and increasing with another 100 per each further embodiment, is added. As shown the bottom wall 114 and side walls 118 and 119 are made thinner compared to walls 14, 18 and 19, respectively, of element 1. On top of the bottom wall 114 a heat isolation element 109 made of, for example, PUR, is placed so as to increase the isolation properties of the element 100. On top of the isolation element 109 the PV element 40 is fixed. The cover 116 may have a different or the same shape as above cover 16. This depends on the required visual appearance of the roof covering formed by the plurality of elements 1 or 100.

(18) FIG. 4 shows a modular roof covering element 200 as an embodiment of a roof covering element according to the present invention. The element 200 is basically the same as element 1 as described above, except for the manner in which the PV element 240 is provided within the interior 212 of the element 200. PV element 240 comprises a plurality of photovoltaic cells fixed onto a flexible sheet, the sheet being suspended by means of posts 241, within the interior 212 of the container 10.

(19) The modular roof covering element 300 according to FIG. 5 is comparable to the element 200. The container 310 of element 300 however has a through passage 313 for air, provided by an additional inner wall 317 extending between side walls 318 and 319. That means the passage 313 is not closed at the sides perpendicular to the shown side walls 318, 319 as shown. The interior 312 is however fully surrounded by the four side walls and the cover. Due to the provision of the passage 313, which in a mounted condition of a plurality of such elements 300 forms a duct though several elements 300, extending parallel to the rafters 4, the PV elements within the interiors 312 of the elements 300 can be cooled using e.g. forced air, or, alternatively, by an air flow which will be present due to heated air flowing upwards through the duct towards the ridge.

(20) A Helmholtz resonator 360, optional within the scope of the invention, is provided at the underside of the bottom wall 314 so as to decrease any noise emission via the elements 300 to the inner side of the building covered by the roof 2 formed by the plurality of elements 300. Application of a Helmholtz resonator 250 with the above elements 1-200 is also conceivable.

(21) FIG. 6 shows a roof covering element 400 as a fifth embodiment of a modular roof covering element according to the invention. The embodiment of FIG. 6 mainly serves to further explain the general construction of roof covering elements, in particular the cover thereof according to the invention. The cover 416 of element 400 is one integral component, shaped so as to resemble a pattern, in two directions, of roof tiles, more particularly a pattern of three by three tiles.

(22) FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of an electrical circuit 580 for an photovoltaic element assembly comprising the concept of inductive coupling for transferring the generated electrical power.

(23) In this example, the photovoltaic element (not shown) is connected to a micro converter 582 via input terminal 581. A photovoltaic element generally comprises a plurality of photovoltaic cells, each of which is arranged to generate a DC voltage of about 0.5 Volt. The DC voltage generated does not, usually, fluctuate heavily based on the amount of incident sun light, although it may fluctuate slightly based on the actual temperature of the assembly. The generated DC current, however, directly depends on the amount of incident sunlight on the photovoltaic cell. It is assumed that the DC current is substantially proportional to the amount of incident sunlight.

(24) The photovoltaic cells may be arranged in series or in parallel, or a combination of both. The result thereof is that the generated voltage of the photovoltaic element assembly may differ widely. The DC voltage may, for example, vary from 20V to as high as 800V per photovoltaic element assembly. In any case, the micro converter 582 is arranged to convert any DC voltage, accompanied with a wide variation of induced DC currents, at its input 581, to an AC voltage at its output terminals 592.

(25) The micro converter 582 may be arranged to generate any type of AC waveform, such as, but not limited to, a square waveform, a triangle waveform, a sinusoidal waveform or a sawtooth waveform.

(26) The AC voltage is then injected to the supply coil in the form of a current track 582. Such a current track 582 is, for example, assembled in the bottom of a box-shaped container. In order to increase the efficiency of the inductive coupling, the area 593 enclosed by the current track may be enlarged by placing the current track in a circumferential direction of, and at the ends of, the bottom side of the box-shaped container. A DC coupling element 583 may be used to increase the quality of the AC waveform.

(27) In the present example, inductive coupling is realised as the current flowing through the current track 584 induces a magnetic field and flux, which magnetic field and flux is picked up by the pickup coil 585. The picked up magnetic field and flux, by the pickup coil 585, generates an AC voltage across its output terminals 594. The pickup coil 585 may be arranged in the form of a current track or may be arranged in a single package 586.

(28) The efficiency of the inductive coupling between the pickup coil 585 and the supply coil 584 can be increased by using a core 591. The magnetic field and flux propagate many times better through a core than through air. The core 591 may be made of a ferromagnetic material, such as iron or ferrite, as these materials are known for their magnetic conductance properties.

(29) Next, the AC voltage at the output terminals 594 is converted via transportation means 588, 589 to a battery or battery pack for storage thereof, via its transportation terminal 590. The transportation means 588, 589 may comprise a DC converter 588 and a controller 589, for efficiently controlling the transportation of the excited energy to the battery.

(30) FIG. 8 shows a sectional view of an embodiment of a photovoltaic element assembly 550 according to the present invention. In use, electrical power is generated by a photovoltaic element 540 as incident sunlight 540 passes through a sunlight transparent cover 16.

(31) The photovoltaic assembly 550 comprises a box-shaped container 510, a photovoltaic element 540 having a plurality of photovoltaic cells, a supply coil 584 in the form of a current track, a micro converter 582 and a pickup coil 585. The photovoltaic element 540, the micro converter 582, and the supply coil 584 are disposed in the interior of the box-shaped container 510, while the pickup coil 585 is disposed outside the interior. The pickup coil may be mounted to the outside area 583 of the bottom wall 514 of the box-shaped container 510, or may be mounted on rafters present on a roof.

(32) The DC voltage, generated by the photovoltaic element 540, is converted to an AC voltage, by the micro converter 582, and injected into the current track 584. The current flowing through the current track will induce a magnetic field and magnetic flux passing through the bottom wall 514 of the box shaped container 510. The magnetic field and/or the magnetic flux is picked up by the pickup coil 585, resulting in an AC voltage generated by the pickup coil 585.

(33) In order to increase the inductive coupling efficiency between the current track 584 and the pickup coil 585, the bottom wall 514 of the box-shaped container 510 should be made as thin as possible. Alternatively, the material of the bottom wall should comprise any ferromagnetic material, such as iron, as such a material has excellent magnetic and coercivity properties.

(34) FIG. 9 shows in sectional view of another embodiment of a photovoltaic element assembly 650 according to the invention.

(35) The difference between the embodiments of FIGS. 8 and 9 is that the supply coil 584 in FIG. 9 is assembled in the upper side 553 of the bottom wall 614 of the box-shaped container 610. The supply coil 584 may be moulded, or may be assembled in the form of a wire coil, for example. The advantage of assembling the supply coil 584 in the upper side 553 of the bottom wall 614 is that the distance between the pickup coil 585 and the supply coil 584 is decreased, resulting in a better efficiency for the inductive coupling between them.

(36) The present invention is not limited to the embodiments as disclosed above, and can be modified and enhanced by those skilled in the art beyond the scope of the present invention as disclosed in the appended claims without having to apply inventive skills.