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A photovoltaic mounting rail that includes an elongate bottom wall, a mounting support, an outer sidewall and one or more electronic components. The mounting support extends upwardly from the bottom wall to a top wall and extends between the first and second ends of the rail. The outer sidewall exte

A photovoltaic mounting rail that includes an elongate bottom wall, a mounting support, an outer sidewall and one or more electronic components. The mounting support extends upwardly from the bottom wall to a top wall and extends between the first and second ends of the rail. The outer sidewall extends upwardly from the bottom wall to a distal edge and also extends between the first and second ends of the bottom wall. The outer sidewall is spaced apart from the mounting support and defines a service channel between the outer sidewall and the mounting support. The rail is adapted for attachment of a photovoltaic panel with electronic devices to the top wall of the mounting support and the connection of the electronic devices to electronic components located within the service channel.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system, the rail comprising: a substantially flat elongate bottom wall comprising first and second sides, first and second ends, a top surface and a bottom surface;a mounting support extending upwardly from the top surface to a top wall and extending betwee

1. A rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system, the rail comprising: a substantially flat elongate bottom wall comprising first and second sides, first and second ends, a top surface and a bottom surface;a mounting support extending upwardly from the top surface to a top wall and extending between the first and second ends;an outer sidewall extending upwardly from the top surface to a distal edge and extending between the first and second ends of the bottom wall, wherein the outer sidewall is spaced apart from the mounting support and defines a service channel between the outer sidewall and the mounting support; andone or more electronic components located within the service channel, wherein the rail is adapted for attachment of a photovoltaic panel to the top wall of the mounting support, and wherein the photovoltaic panel has one or more electronic devices that is/are connected to the one or more electronic components. 2. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic components include an inverter or an optimizer. 3. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 1, wherein the outer sidewall is a solid wall. 4. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 1, wherein the service channel has an opening opposite the bottom wall for the passage of wires into and out of the service channel. 5. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 1, wherein the mounting support has a base formed by the bottom wall and two opposing side walls extending between the bottom wall and the top wall. 6. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 5, wherein the base, top wall and two opposing side walls of the mounting support have a trapezoidal shape with the bottom wall forming the base of the trapezoid. 7. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 5, wherein the outer side wall is substantially parallel to the adjacent opposing side wall of the mounting support. 8. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 1, wherein the outer sidewall is a separate unit mounted onto the rail. 9. The photovoltaic panel racking system rail according to claim 1, wherein the bottom wall has a plurality of anchoring apertures for attaching the rail to a structure. 10. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 1, wherein the top wall has a plurality of mounting apertures for attaching the photovoltaic panel to the rail. 11. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 1, wherein the mounting support has a first distance between the bottom wall and the top wall, wherein the outer sidewall has a second distance between the bottom wall and the distal edge, and wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance. 12. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 1, wherein the rail is an aluminum extrusion or a plastic extrusion. 13. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 1, wherein the outer sidewall is flexible. 14. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 1, wherein the outer sidewall is flexible. 15. A rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system, the rail comprising: a substantially flat elongate bottom wall comprising first and second sides, first and second ends, a top surface and a bottom surface;a mounting support extending upwardly from the top surface to a top wall and extending between the first and second ends, wherein the mounting support has a first distance between the bottom wall and the top wall, and wherein the top wall has a plurality of mounting apertures for attaching the photovoltaic panel to the rail;an outer sidewall extending upwardly from the top surface to a distal edge and extending between the first and second ends of the bottom wall, wherein the outer sidewall is spaced apart from the mounting support and defines a service channel with an opening between the outer sidewall and the mounting support for the passage of wires into and out of the service channel, wherein the outer sidewall has a second distance between the bottom wall and the distal edge, and wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance; andone or more electronic components located within the service channel, wherein the rail is adapted for attachment of a photovoltaic panel to the top wall of the mounting support, and wherein the photovoltaic panel has one or more electronic devices that is/are connected to the one or more electronic components. 16. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 15, wherein the mounting support has a base formed by the bottom wall and two opposing side walls extending between the bottom wall and the top wall. 17. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 16, wherein the distance between the two opposing side walls of the mounting support at the bottom wall is greater than the distance between the two opposing walls at the top wall. 18. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 16, wherein the outer side wall is substantially parallel to the adjacent opposing side wall of the mounting support. 19. A rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system, the rail comprising: a substantially flat elongate bottom wall comprising first and second sides, first and second ends, a top surface and a bottom surface;a mounting support extending upwardly from the top surface to a top wall and extending between the first and second ends, wherein the mounting support has a base formed by the bottom wall and two opposing side walls extending between the bottom wall and the top wall, wherein the distance between the two opposing side walls at the bottom wall is greater than the distance between the two opposing walls at the top wall, wherein the mounting support has a first distance between the bottom wall and the top wall, and wherein the top wall has a plurality of mounting apertures for attaching the photovoltaic panel to the rail;an outer sidewall extending upwardly from the top surface to a distal edge and extending between the first and second ends of the bottom wall, wherein the outer sidewall is spaced apart from the mounting support and defines a service channel with an opening between the outer sidewall and the mounting support for the passage of wires into and out of the service channel, wherein the outer sidewall has a second distance between the bottom wall and the distal edge, and wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance; andone or more electronic components located within the service channel, wherein the rail is adapted for attachment of a photovoltaic panel to the top wall of the mounting support, and wherein the photovoltaic panel has one or more electronic devices that is/are connected to the one or more electronic components. 20. The rail for a photovoltaic panel racking system according to claim 19, wherein the outer side wall is substantially parallel to the adjacent opposing side wall of the mounting support.