Dec 14 2010
Westinghouse Solar, a distributor and manufacturer of solar power systems, declared that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has given another patent for the company.
This patent is for its novel solar panel technology and was issued on November 16, 2010, providing added security for Westinghouse’s solar panel design and also adds to the intellectual property portfolio of the company. This innovative design is not only easy and quick to install but also gives a more reliable performance.
The solar panel technology incorporates features such as side electrical connections, which makes manual wiring of solar panels unnecessary; grooves by the solar panel sides to permit connections to rafters anywhere along the solar panel; a splice device to link the solar panels in a safe and rigid way; a grounding path via the splice devices to eliminate the necessity of manually grounding the solar panels.
Its original patent for a solar module including racking, grounding and wiring was registered in 2004 and approved in 2008. The company has also 25 more patents pending at different stages in the USPTO and other patent offices abroad. According to Barry Cinnamon, Westinghouse’ CEO, this approval of the patent would give the company a major edge and bring solar power into the mainstream. Installation costs contribute more to the overall cost of the system even as inverters and solar cell costs continue to plummet. He said that the company’s integrated solution would decrease these installation outlays considerably.
Cinnamon further revealed that Westinghouse would carry on development and commercialization of the product. They would also work with their licensing and distribution partners to facilitate making installation benefits available to their commercial and residential customers. He gave the credit to the company’s engineering team for having pioneered the notion of integrating the technology into the solar panel frame.