JP5219512B2 - Solar cell (elongated small piece) submodule structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a solar cell submodule structure incorporating elongated solar cells and a method of forming a solar cell submodule, and in particular, a solar cell submodule for a photovoltaic device, a solar cell sub for a photovoltaic device. Method of forming a module, substrate removal process, elongated substrate supply process, process of forming a solar cell submodule for a photovoltaic device, elongated substrate handling system, forming a solar cell submodule for a photovoltaic device A process of forming an electrical connection in the photovoltaic module, a process of forming an electrical connector for the photovoltaic module, a process of forming an electrical connection between the elongated strips in the photovoltaic module, Electrical connector for photovoltaic module, for photovoltaic module System for forming an electrical connector, the elongated pieces (sliver) removing process, the elongated strip removal device, an elongated piece removal clamps, the process removing the elongated pieces from the wafer, and a storage device storing an elongated substrate in stacked arrangement.

  In this specification, the term “elongated solar cell” refers to a high aspect ratio, generally in the shape of a parallelepiped, with a length that is substantially greater than a width (typically tens to hundreds of times longer). Represents a solar cell having The thickness of the elongated solar cell is almost negligible in the present invention, but is typically 4 to 100 times smaller than the width of the solar cell. The length and width of the solar cell define the maximum available active surface area (active “surface” of the solar cell) for power generation, while the length and thickness of the solar cell are optically inactive to the cell Surface or “edge”. Typical elongate solar cells are 10 to 120 mm long, 0.5 to 5 mm wide, and 15 to 400 microns thick.

  Elongated solar cells are described in, for example, pages 179-184 of Volume 65 (2001) of Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells, S. Scheibenstock, S. Keller, P. Fath, Wilke. (G.Willeke) and E.Bucher's "High Vo (High Voltage) Battery Concept" ("Schovenstock"), and International Patent Application Publication Number WO02 / 45143 ("Elongated Small Piece Patent Application") )) As described. The latter document shows that the resulting thin and elongated substrate dimensions are large quantities of thin (roughly << 1) from a single standard silicon wafer, all of which have a surface area greater than that of the original silicon wafer. A process for manufacturing a 150 μm) elongated silicon substrate is described. Such an elongated substrate is referred to as an “elongated small piece substrate”. The elongated strip patent application also discloses a process for forming solar cells on an elongated strip substrate, referred to as "elongated strip solar cells". However, the term “elongated strip” refers to an elongated strip substrate that generally incorporates or does not incorporate one or more solar cells. The term “strips” is a registered trademark of Origin Energy Solar Pty Ltd., Australia registration number 933476.

  In general, an elongated solar cell is a single crystal solar cell or a polycrystalline solar cell formed on an elongated substrate using essentially the solar cell manufacturing process. Machining a series of parallel elongated slots through a silicon wafer to define a corresponding series of parallel elongated substrates joined together by a remaining portion of the wafer, represented as a wafer frame. Are preferably formed in a batch process. While they are left on the wafer frame, the solar cells are formed on an elongated substrate and then separated from each other and from the wafer frame to provide an individual elongated set of solar cells.

  The elongated slices of silicon on which elongated solar cells are formed are fragile and require careful handling, especially when separated from the original wafer, when tested, packed in containers, stored, mounted and electrical interconnected Attention is sometimes required. In addition, the area and value of each cell is small when compared to larger area conventional solar cells (eg, non-elongated wafer-based cells), and the reliability of the elongated substrates and solar cells to make them economically successful. Some low cost handling, assembly and mounting processes are required. Existing approaches to using elongated solar cells to form photovoltaic devices are limited to a certain extent. Some applications include attaching the cell to a substrate, or a transparent or translucent substrate such as glass, to form an array of electrically connected elongated solar cells. “Pinch and place” robotic machines are used to place elongated solar cells on a substrate. The batteries are then electrically connected using a material such as conductive epoxy or solder, for example. For example, a sealing material such as ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), silicone, polyvinyl butyral (PVB) or polyurethane is used to complete the assembly of the solar cell array of glass or Tefzel or Teflon film or similar transparent material. Used with a coating layer.

  An important difficulty in forming photovoltaic devices using this technique is that it has a similar power output to a standard solar cell of a similar area, but with substantially different voltage and current characteristics. To form an array with the possibility of relatively accurate positioning in a relatively large area and the electrical interconnection of a relatively large amount of elongated solar cells.

  In addition, the conventional pinching process, which has high value and is designed for the assembly of small size items on a relatively small substrate area, but covers large area substrates When transformed, it is too slow and complicated to be economically successful. Alternatively, high throughput assembly systems with acceptable throughput are expensive, require accurate manufacturing and control systems, and wear to handle large numbers of small elongated solar cells at high speeds over the area of conventional solar module assembly. And due to the tear, it has a practically limited practical lifetime.

  Conventional modules, particularly those constructed using single crystal or polycrystalline silicon wafers, typically include about 60-70 wafer cells per square meter of module area. The solar cells used in most conventional modules are single sided (eg they give only one active surface for illumination) and there is no difficulty in determining the correct orientation of the cell. The large (eg, typically 4 inches) diameter of conventional wafer solar cells also means that there is virtually no possibility that the solar cells will be turned over in the handling or assembly process. The number of electrical connections in a module including a conventional wafer is on the order of 200 per solar cell, or about 4 per cell.

  In elongate solar cells, the number of electrical connections is approximately 6 or 8 per cell, but each elongate cell area is a small portion of the area of a conventional cell, so a module incorporating only elongate solar cells The number of electrical connections may range from 2,000 to 20,000 per square meter of module area or more. It is clear from this discussion alone that an unprecedented approach is required to establish an inexpensive and reliable electrical interconnect for modules incorporating elongated solar cell submodule assemblies.

  Furthermore, the essence of one surface of conventional solar cells is to make their orientation and polarity easily visible. However, elongate solar cells are two-sided (eg, having two opposing optically active surfaces) and are completely symmetric in physical shape, making their visual determination of their polarity impossible. Elongated solar cells with very large aspect ratios can be easily wound and bent if they are thin enough, but at the same time they become quite fragile when subjected to local stresses and can be separated or handled. , Cracked or damaged during testing, containering and assembly.

  Another difficulty with elongated solar cells is that they are prone to misorientation around the longitudinal axis during separation and handling. The long substrate is processed to form a single-sided solar cell, where the electrodes are on the cell surface or near the cell edge. Alternatively, the elongated substrate is processed to form a two-sided solar cell, in which case the electrodes are at the cell surface, or more likely at the edge of the solar cell. The essence of the two sides of the elongated solar cell shape is that the orientation and polarity of each cell requires that it be kept mechanically in an absolutely reliable manner during handling. Elongated two-sided solar cells also appear physically symmetrical without any landmarks or features available where the polarity of the solar cell is visually determined. Elongated two-sided solar cells placed in the wrong direction are therefore inadvertently incorporated into the modules in the orientation to operate them in reverse bias, which reduces the output of the module, and / or The module may be destroyed.

  In conventional photovoltaic modules, solar cells, bus bars and battery connections are completely resin encapsulated in a matrix of elastic material such as ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), which is a glass substrate and It is sandwiched between a protective back sheet or other glass sheet. For various reasons, it is not convenient to completely encapsulate an elongated solar cell in the standard manner described above. Rather, it is preferred to adhere the elongated battery directly to a support substrate, more generally glass. However, this arrangement makes it difficult to make a reliable electrical connection between the elongated batteries.

  One application of solar cells is the so-called linear concentrator system. An example of such a system is a trough concentrator, which includes a long solar tracking array of mirrors or reflective lenses. A typical linear photovoltaic concentrator system operates at a geometric solar illumination concentrator ratio in the range of about 8 to 80 times that of the “one sun” system (8-80 “solar” "). In such an arrangement, a single line of conventional solar cells is mounted on the receiver. Each conventional battery is 2 cm to 5 cm wide, and 20 to 50 solar cells are connected in series along the length of the receiver having a length of 1-2 m. The light uniformity is generally good along the length of the receiver, but bad in the lateral direction. Solar cells are usually connected in series to provide a higher voltage output. Current typically flows from the center of each cell on the top and bottom surfaces to four contacts on the two edges of each cell. An electrical connection is made to each of these contacts to remove current. The series connection of solar cells is made by a suitable connection technique, including the use of copper tabs, typically at the receiver edge. However, the series interconnection in this conventional system occupies an important area. Furthermore, the flow of current along the length of the collector receiver is the process of moving charge laterally to the edge of each cell from the central region to the external connection and back to the central region of the adjacent cell. . As a result, significant series resistance loss occurs. The application of elongated solar cells to concentrator systems has the potential to solve many of the problems associated with conventional solar cells currently in use, as described above.

  Solar cell submodule for photovoltaic device, method of forming submodule for photovoltaic device, solar cell submodule for photovoltaic device, solar cell submodule for photovoltaic device Forming method, substrate removal process, elongated substrate supply process, process of forming solar cell submodule for photovoltaic device, elongated substrate handling process, process of forming solar cell submodule for photovoltaic device, A process for forming an electrical connection in the photovoltaic module, a process for forming an electrical connector for the photovoltaic module, a process for forming an electrical connection between elongated strip cells in the photovoltaic module, Form electrical connector for photovoltaic module, electrical connector for photovoltaic module System, strip removal process, strip removal device, strip strip clamp, process to remove strip substrate from wafer, and stack to alleviate one or more of the above difficulties or at least provide a useful alternative It would be desirable to provide a storage device for storing elongated substrates in a defined arrangement.

  In one aspect, the present invention includes a plurality of elongate solar cells mounted in a structure that keeps the elongate solar cells longitudinally parallel and generally coplanar, the structure electrically interconnecting the elongate solar cells. A solar cell sub-module for a photovoltaic device is provided having one or more conductive paths.

  In another aspect, the present invention implements a plurality of elongate solar cells and electrically interconnects the elongate solar cells in a structure that maintains the elongate solar cells in a substantially longitudinal parallel and generally coplanar arrangement. A method of forming a solar cell sub-module for a photovoltaic device is provided that includes providing one or more conductive paths extending through the structure for the purpose.

  The present invention has particular application to solar power modules, which typically utilize uncollected sunlight and are usually electrically connected in series and sealed at the back of the glass, Includes 30-50 conventional silicon solar cells.

  The invention also has special application to linear concentrator receivers, which utilize concentrated sunlight, which is usually electrically connected together and at the focus of a solar linear concentrator system. Includes 20-40 silicon solar cells mounted on a suitable heat sink.

  The mounting structure prevents damage to the elongated solar cells or electrical connections due to thermal cycles during manufacture or use. In one form of the invention, an elongated solar cell is mounted on a thermally compatible substrate and provides one or more electrically conductive paths that extend across the substrate to make an electrical connection. Is done by. In another form of the invention, one or more electrical interconnections between the elongated cells form a physical retention structure such that different rates of thermal expansion do not cause significant stress on the substrate. .

  The elongated solar cells in each sub-module are spaced apart according to the function and performance required for the particular photovoltaic device. In some applications, adjacent elongated solar cells are bordered at a distance. In other embodiments, the spacing between the elongated solar cells is several times the width of the individual elongated solar cells. In some applications, the elongated solar cell may be two-sided. That is, in these applications, the spacing is determined to take advantage of illumination on both sides of the elongated solar cell, either by appropriately placed reflectors or by illumination from both sides. In other applications, the elongated solar cell is one side. In these latter applications, the spacing is preferably determined to take advantage of the illumination received on only one side of the elongated solar cell. However, in the latter case, illumination from both sides, through the use of a properly placed reflector to confine the light by all internal reflections in the structure, or where the light from the back is redirected to the front of the long and narrow solar cell There is an advantage by.

  In one form of the invention, the substrate is in the form of one or more horizontal beams to which the elongated cells are bonded. The horizontal beams provide mechanical stability to the sub-module assembly and electrical interconnections between elongated solar cells along the surface of the elements of the horizontal beam to continuous, semi-continuous or intermittent conductive tracks. The horizontal beam can be silicon or a rigid polymer sheet such as a thin glass sheet, such as Lexan polycarbonate sheet, or a Shinkolite VH acrylic sheet, such as Marplex (registered). Resin-based acrylic such as (Marplex) acrylic sheet, or flexible material such as Lexan® polycarbonate film, or Cincolite® VH acrylic film, Marplex® acrylic, for example Resin-based acrylics such as films, polyimide films such as Kapton, fluoropolymers such as Tefzel, or eg Tedlar Like polye Manufactured from other stable materials, such as a titanium-based film. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are too many other suitable materials to mention transparent or opaque, or cold or hot materials, depending on the specific requirements.

  In this form of the invention in which the elongated cells are mounted on horizontal beams, the thermal compatibility of the substrate is achieved due to the small size of the bonded area that attaches the horizontal beams to the individual elongated solar cells. That is, because of the small common area that is physically bonded and constrained by the areas bonded together, the thermal expansion coefficient of the horizontal beam is the same as that of the elongated battery, as in other forms of the invention. There's no need to match them closely.

  A submodule formed by bonding an elongated solar cell to a horizontal beam is referred to herein as a “raft”. A raft contains several to several hundred elongated solar cells. In one form of the invention, the raft is formed in a size similar to a conventional solar cell and is typically 10 cm × 10 cm, or 12 cm × 12 cm, or 15 cm × 15 cm or larger. This allows each solar cell assembly to be lighted so that it can be tested, placed in a container, handled, assembled, stringed, sealed, and similar electrical connection techniques currently used in conventional solar cells. It is to be incorporated as a “battery” of the electromotive device. However, the important difference is that depending on whether the elongated solar cells are connected in series or in parallel, usually each raft has a much higher voltage and lower current than a typical conventional solar cell. Is to have.

  In another form of the invention, referred to herein as a “boat”, the elongate solar cells are implemented in a continuous or semi-continuous or optically bright or transparent superstrate. During the thermal cycle, the substrate or superstrate is thermally compatible because it has a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of silicon to reduce stress. In particular, the substrate or superstrate is selected such that due to expansion of the elongated solar cell, substrate or superstrate, the coefficient of thermal expansion is the stress introduced into the module structure or component, including the adhesive or adhesive layer, and Adhesive or tacky materials, including electrical connections and other physical structures, are not sufficient to damage the intact structure or reduce the lifetime or reliability of the module or component. Alternatively, the substrate or superstrate is flexible so that thermal stresses can be accommodated.

  Substrate or superstrate material is low cost, electrically insulating (either intrinsically or by coating with insulating material), thin, and selectively with conductive tracks for electrical connection It can be coated and may be flexible for applications requiring a flexible sub-module assembly within a flexible photovoltaic module. Suitable substrates include silicon and borosilicate glass, and polymer sheets or pieces such as Lexan® polycarbonate, eg fluorinated polymer sheets or pieces such as Tefzel®, eg Tedora® A polyethylene sheet or piece such as Kapton®, a polyimide sheet or piece such as Kapton®, for example a resin-based acrylic such as Cincolite® acrylic sheet or Marplex® acrylic sheet, Also, flexible film materials such as Lexan® polycarbonate film, fluorinated polymer films such as Tefzel®, polyethylene films such as Tedra®, and Kapton®, for example. ) Containing a polyimide tape such as tape.

  This form of the invention is particularly applicable for use under concentrated sunlight. In this form of the invention, the elongated solar cells are placed nearby or spaced apart. Preferably, the boat substrate or optically bright superstrate is mounted on the heat sink so that the solar cell is cooled by the transfer of heat from the substrate to the heat sink.

  In yet another form of the invention, the sub-module elongated solar cells are adjacent to each other only by electrical interconnects and electrical interconnect materials, eliminating the need for horizontal beams and substrates as well as interconnecting electrical tracks. Is held in a relative position with respect to the solar cell. This form of the invention is hereinafter referred to as “mesh raft” in this specification.

  Because rafts and boats have a high voltage capability, elongated solar cells are particularly suitable for concentrated sunlight applications. The maximum power voltage of an elongated silicon solar cell under concentrated sunlight is approximately 0.7 volts. The typical width of the battery is approximately 0.7 mm to 3 mm. Thus, the voltage rises at a rate of up to 10 volts per centimeter of the elongated solar cell assembly array, with the benefit of a correspondingly small current.

  As a result, it is formed from crystalline or polycrystalline silicon or other solar cell material and is essentially a one- or two-sided and thin or thick, raft, mesh raft, or submodule assembly such as a boat. The elongated solar cells that are formed are particularly suitable for use in linear concentrator systems instead of conventional solar cells. Each elongate solar cell is next to or along the length (continuously or intermittently) of each edge, depending on whether the electrode array and the elongate cell are two-sided or one-sided Are connected in series between the surface and the surface, between the surface and the edge or between the surface and the surface.

  As a result, current flows substantially only in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the receiver, rather than continuously alternating between lateral and longitudinal directions, as occurs when conventional solar cells are used. . Moreover, since the space occupied by the series connection between the elongated cells is quite small, sunlight is hardly lost by absorption at those connections. In addition, the series resistance loss of submodule assemblies composed of elongated solar cells and hence concentrator receivers composed of elongated solar cell submodules such as rafts, mesh rafts or boats are illuminated. Hardly depends on the width of the area.

  Many advantages arise from certain shape features of elongated solar cells that include only electrical connections at the edges of each solar cell. For connections that are described in this specification, mesh raft boats, electrical connections are rafts, mesh rafts, or boats because the connection is provided by one or more conductive paths on or in the substrate or horizontal beam The query "edge" is not required at the edge of the row (which is formed by the ends of the elongated solar cells forming a linear array of solar cells in the submodule assembly). This means that several parallel rows of rafts or boats are used for a single receiver with the narrow spacing required between each row. As a result, the receiver is several tens of centimeters and is relatively wide. This is particularly advantageous in concentrator applications where multiple or wide mirrors reflect light at a single fixed receiver. In such an application, each raft or row of boats has a fairly uniform illumination, although the lighting level may be different for each row.

  In these applications, if conventional concentrator solar cells are used, control the series resistance, manage the problems associated with uneven illumination across the width of the wide receiver, and row and cell It is difficult to minimize the useless interval between This is not the case for the elongated solar cell submodule described in this document.

  A further advantage of the rafts, mesh rafts, or boats that are described in this specification is that they are formed from elongated solar cells, so that the receiver voltage is the inverter (DC current AC current associated with the photovoltaic system). The step-up stage (used to convert to) is removed and becomes larger. A further advantage is that each raft, mesh raft or boat is electrically operated to be parallel to other rafts, mesh rafts or boats. Alternatively, groups of rafts or boats are connected in series, and so formed groups are parallel to other groups. This parallel connection capability is due, for example, to shadows cast by structural elements, mirror imperfections, debris, contamination, uneven degradation in mirror performance, and optical losses at the end of linear concentrator systems. The effect of the resulting illumination non-uniform receiver output can be greatly reduced.

  The rafts, mesh rafts, or boats described in this specification provide a significant advance over the existing use of elongated solar cells. In particular, placing elongate solar cells one by one in a solar cell module is avoided by using elongate solar cell rafts, mesh rafts, or boats, each containing tens or hundreds of individual elongate cells. Since each such raft, mesh raft, or boat is small, it can be assembled in a mechanical jig at no cost so that a sufficiently accurate placement of the parts is possible. The desired number of rafts or boats are arranged to form a solar power module having shape, area, current and voltage characteristics, and associated output power.

  Similar benefits relate to the formation of concentrator receivers and minimodules. The mini-module utilizes skillfully arranged light to charge consumer electronics power or a small battery, which provides a suitable voltage that is generally greater than that provided by a single solar cell.

  The rafts, mesh rafts, and boats described in this specification are resin encapsulated to form flexible photovoltaic modules by taking advantage of the bendability of thin and elongated solar cells, and Flexible materials such as Lexan® polycarbonate film, eg fluorinated polymer films such as Tefsol®, all in the form of sheets, films or tapes required for a particular application For example, a polyethylene film such as Tedra (registered trademark), for example, a polyimide film (registered trademark) such as Kapton. For those skilled in the art, a very large range of suitable materials, and combinations and adhesives of these materials, are used to form the submodule assemblies described above.

  Manufactured using thin and flexible solar cells and horizontal beams or substrates or superstrates, rafts, mesh rafts, and another way to take advantage of boats, rafts or boats into rigid, bent support substrates It is to implement firmly. It is difficult to achieve such a goal using a “pinch-and-pick machine” like a robot for solar cells. Alternatively, the raft, mesh raft, or boat is mounted on a flat support substrate bent into the desired shape.

  One example of a suitable support substrate is bent glass for architectural applications. Recent improvements in polymer technology provide UV-stable polymers, such as materials such as Lexan®, and UV-stabilized acrylics suitable for architectural applications.

  Other examples of applications that take advantage of the bendability of thin and elongated solar cell sub-module assemblies are rafts to bent linear concentrator receivers made from stretched aluminum or other materials, Is to implement a mesh raft or boat. One advantage of doing so is that the individual elongate solar cells of the raft or boat provide near-normal incidence illumination from sunlight reflected or refracted from the edge region of the linear concentrator optics. Is to accept.

  Another advantage of the raft, mesh raft, and boat described and formed herein is that the efficiency of submodule assembly can be easily measured. Measuring the efficiency of large numbers of individual small solar cells is inconvenient and expensive. The rafts, mesh rafts, and boats described in this specification allow the raft, mesh raft, or boat efficiency to be directly measured, so that dozens to hundreds of solar cells can be operated in one operation. To be measured together. This approach makes visible the classification of rafts, mesh rafts or boats into performance (including bad categories) categories, and solar power modules, receivers or mini-modules with different performance characteristics. Reduces measurement costs and time to be selected from assembling, sorting rafts, mesh rafts, and boats. Those rafts, mesh rafts and boats with performance below the minimum level are discarded or divided into smaller parts and remeasured. If the individual elongated solar cells that cause low performance are mainly rafts, mesh rafts, or parts of boats, the performance is not good enough and other parts need to be discarded, Small parts may have good performance.

  The rafts, mesh rafts or boats described in this specification deal with the difficulties that arise during the manufacture of inconvenient and difficult solar cells in order to carry out several steps of small solar cells. For example, to make a reflector on one surface, one of the elongated solar cell faces is metalized until it is removed from the remaining portion of the silicon wafer on which it is formed, as described in the Sliver patent application. It may be difficult to coat. Another example is the application of an anti-reflective coating, which in some situations may be performed more conveniently after a metal coating has been made. This causes the anti-reflective coating to cover the metal coated portion, which makes it difficult to make electrical contact. If suitable materials are selected to form a mesh raft or boat, for example, layers such as anti-reflective coatings and reflective coatings can be deposited, chemically treated when the boat is assembled or after it is assembled. Deposited by chemical vapor deposition, spray deposition, or other means.

  Similarly, a raft, mesh raft, or boat sub-module provides a more convenient clue for electrical passivation of the solar cell surface. Electrical passivation is sometimes performed by using a material such as silicon nitride, by a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process, or by depositing amorphous silicon on the surface of the cell. These coatings eliminate the need for high temperature treatments to achieve good surface passivation. In some cases, this step is difficult or impossible to perform during normal solar cell processing.

  For example, the deposition of silicon nitride by PECVD is not conformal. As a result, it is difficult to continuously coat the elongated solar cell shaped surface while they are attached to other parts of the silicon wafer. However, the process is carried out continuously during or after assembly of a raft, mesh raft, or boat submodule that includes this particular type of elongated solar cell.

  In another form, the present invention has been placed in a closely adjacent arrangement so that the current path occurs substantially longitudinally along the collector receiver, but across the length of the elongated solar cell. Provide photovoltaic devices for solar linear concentrators, including multiple rafts, mesh rafts, or boats.

  Elongated solar cells are manufactured in several types or categories. Categories include the following: A “thin” solar cell is an elongate solar cell with a thickness of less than 150 microns, a thin elongate solar cell with the cell electrode at the edge of the cell, a thin elongate surface with the electrode on the surface or part of the surface of the solar cell Solar cells, thin and elongated single-plane solar cells whose electrodes are a combination of solar cell faces or edges, thick solar cells where “thick” solar cells are defined as solar cells greater than or equal to 150 microns thick, cell electrodes A thick and elongated two-sided solar cell with the electrode at the edge of the cell, a thick and elongated single-sided solar cell with the electrode on or part of the surface of the solar cell, and a thick and elongated with the electrode being a combination of the solar cell surface and edge Includes a single-sided solar cell.

  Some elongate solar cells that distinguish these assemblies from conventional cells and conventional cell sub-module assemblies, including some unique of solar cell sub-module assemblies, such as rafts, mesh rafts, and boats There are features.

  For example, elongated solar cells are included in a substantially flat arrangement. The elongated solar cells are configured in a one-dimensional linear array of substantially parallel cells in which the cells are arranged so that the cell array crosses in the direction of the linear array. This places one cell's electrode edge adjacent to the aligned cell's electrode edge. This is because the purpose of assembling a conventional battery or a diced conventional battery is to supply power to a small or portable low power electronic device such as a calculator, or for example a cell phone charger or portable Most devices assembled from conventional batteries, or a small area dice, that is to form a device output voltage at a level suitable for low power battery chargers such as battery chargers in music players Contrast with devices assembled from conventional batteries cut into pieces. In such devices, the batteries are often configured in a two-dimensional planar array.

  Elongated solar cells forming rafts or mesh rafts form a linear array of submodule assemblies to substantially reduce the surface area of silicon or the footprint occupied by the submodules relative to the overall area The position between fixed cells is fixed relative to adjacent cells in a uniform, nearly uniform, or repeating pattern. The purpose of the spacing is to substantially reduce the amount of expensive solar cell material in the module without substantially reducing the power output of the module. A scattering reflector placed behind the array is reflected at a high enough angle so that part of the reflected light reaches the back of the elongated battery and part of the light is captured in the module by total internal reflection. , And reflect the light passing through the array gap so that the remaining light is lost by being reflected out of the module.

  Elongated solar cells are particularly sensitive to this type of static optics due to the fact that optimization of static concentrator performance requires the module thickness profile to be on the order of the width of the elongated solar cell. Suitable for condensing module design. From this observation alone, it is clear that conventional solar cells of the conventional type are not suitable candidates for this shape of static light collection. However, elongate solar cell rafts or raft assemblies are very suitable for this configuration of static concentrating designs, with the benefit of a substantial reduction in silicon consumption.

  Modules composed of elongated solar cells are easily designed to produce a very high voltage per unit area compared to conventional solar cells. Compared to conventional modules where the rate is typically about 1 volt per 10 to 30 linear centimeters, the voltage occurs at a rate of about 1 volt per linear millimeter, so even with small PV devices, at low voltages, High enough to remove the boost inverter stage as much as it would significantly reduce the current supply capability requirements of conventional batteries of high current and conventional solar module, which is a significant drawback of conventional PV module arrangements Operated with voltage.

  Furthermore, the critical area of the sub-module assembly cell array within a module composed of elongated solar cells is operated in parallel while maintaining a high module output voltage. This reduces partial light-shielding loss, reduced reverse bias operation without the need for bypass diode protection, reduced other benefits such as lower module and battery operating temperature compared to conventional modules Gives significant improvements to the annual energy output.

  Multiple elongate cells forming a raft, mesh raft, or boat submodule assembly, so that the electrical interconnection between the elongate solar cells within the raft, mesh raft, or boat submodule assembly is extensive and complete The battery that is electrically interconnected in an integral manner, and the internal electrical interconnection within the submodule assembly constitutes a submodule assembly to form a solar power submodule. Submodule assembly itself, between submodules to a bus, or submodule group or submodule arrangement, and electrical connections between busbars or submodule groups, and other submodule groups To save money.

  A substantially flat array arrangement of a plurality of elongated solar cells is assembled on a horizontal beam, semi-continuous or continuous substrate or superstrate and is optically transparent using rigid or flexible support materials. It is composed of an opaque support material, an electrically conductive or non-conductive support material, a thermally conductive or non-conductive support material.

  Specific methods and processes for assembling a plurality of elongate solar cells into submodule assemblies, or cell arrays, include the structure and type of elongate cells, the orientation and arrangement of cells in the original wafer, and the final submodule assembly. Depends on the structure and type of flat array of elongated batteries. However, the structure and function, motivation and purpose, benefits and practicality of the above-described submodule assembly are not in the forming process, but rather the elongated sun forming the above-described raft, mesh raft, and submodule assembly structure. The physical, optical, electrical, and practical characteristics of these battery assembly parts. Rafts, mesh rafts, and boat submodule assemblies are products and structures that allow convenient, fast, low-cost, and reliable handling, operation and testing and containering, and final assembly .

  The ability to manufacture independent, self contained “rafts”, “mesh rafts”, or “boats” is separate, handled, and assembled into all shapes of elongated solar cells and PV modules including these elongated solar cells Simplify the configuration. Raft, mesh raft, or boat assembly is a small and inexpensive device that does not require large-scale accuracy and automation, such as the use of equipment and machinery, or deemed necessary for elongate solar cell assembly, This is done using jigs and machines.

  In addition, the work required to assemble solar power modules and concentrator receivers, such as rafting, mesh rafting, or boating or resin sealing, tensioning interconnects, handling batteries, And an apparatus for assembling the battery, using a very slightly modified conventional PV battery.

  An additional advantageous feature of the sub-module assembly described in this document is that the solar power module constructed using sub-modules assembled from elongated solar cells uses completely conventional PV module material To be manufactured. Submodule assemblies and separation, handling, testing, containering, and assembly of subassemblies into solar power modules can only be done by using elongated solar cells, solder and conventional busbars, EVA and glass. Is called.

  The structures and processes described in this specification are based on the use of all forms of adhesives, all forms of conductive epoxies or polymers or compounds, including inks, pastes and elastics, and all forms of optical adhesives. , And also gives the opportunity and means to eliminate the demand for use. The module assemblies and processes described in this specification provide the opportunity and means to eliminate the requirements for use and use of such materials, and provide long-term reliability confidence for elongated solar cell modules. Solder required to form a solder joint that not only adds but also provides stencil printing, or electrical interconnection between elongated solar cells, and physical and mechanical support between the cell and the sub-module assembly support structure Eliminates the need to supply solder paste for reflow.

  According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process for forming an electrical connection in a photovoltaic module comprising attaching the electrical conductors to spaced apart supports, said electrical conductors Defines an indirect path between the positions in order to adapt the different rates of thermal expansion between the electrical conductor and the support and thereby maintain an electrical connection between the positions.

  In another aspect, the present invention also provides an electrical connector for a photovoltaic module, the electrical connector being adapted for attachment to a mounting location spaced apart from each other. The inductive path between the positions in order to adapt the different speeds of thermal expansion of the electrical conductor and the support and thereby maintain an electrical connection between the mounting positions. Is specified.

  Preferably, the indirect path includes one or more corrugations of the electrical conductor.

  Preferably, the indirect path is a first region of the electrical conductor shaped to facilitate attachment to the support between a second region of the electrical conductor including one or more waveforms. including.

  Preferably, the first region is substantially flat.

  Preferably, the electrical connector includes a bus bar for the photovoltaic module.

  Preferably, the bus bar is adapted to form an electrical connection between a solar cell and a bank or an array of solar cells of the photovoltaic module.

  Preferably, the solar cell of the photovoltaic module includes an elongated solar cell.

  Preferably, the electrically conductive material includes a metal.

  Preferably, the electrically conductive material is copper.

  Preferably, for solder-based electrical interconnection, the electrically conductive material is tinned copper (solder coated).

  In yet another aspect, the present invention also includes attaching busbars to spaced apart board mounting locations, wherein the busbars are adapted to different rates of thermal expansion of the busbars and the board. And thereby forming an electrical connection between the elongated solar cells in the photovoltaic module that defines an indirect path between the locations to maintain an electrical connection between the mounting locations. Give process.

  Preferably, the bus bar includes one or more waveforms.

  Preferably, the bus bar includes one or more corrugated regions separated by respective adapted second regions to facilitate attachment of the bus bar to the substrate.

  Preferably, the bus bar includes one or more corrugated regions separated by respective adapted second regions to facilitate electrical connection of the bus bar to the solar cell.

  Preferably, the second region is substantially flat.

  Conveniently, the substantially flat second region is convex toward the substrate.

  The invention also provides a system having components for performing the steps of any one of claims 67 to 86.

  The invention also provides at least two spaced apart mounting positions along the length to accommodate different protrusions, and different rates of thermal expansion of the electrically conductive material and support. In order to define an indirect path between the rollers, to deform the length of the electrically conductive material fed between the rollers, and thereby at least a portion of the length of the electrically conductive material, Photovoltaic including a pair of rotating rollers having adapted recesses to maintain an electrical connection between the mounting positions when mounted to the support in spaced mounting positions. A system for forming an electrical connector for a module is provided.

According to one aspect of the invention,
Accepts a plurality of spaced apart strips of solar cells interconnected by one or more wafer frame portions, each of the strips of solar cells being a solar cell that is perpendicular to the polarity and the edge Relative to the solar cell edge of the solar cell to provide a plurality of stripped elongate solar cells, each having a surface, having an outwardly facing edge, and an edge of a selected polarity having the same orientation While maintaining a common orientation, an elongated strip removal process is provided that includes removing the elongated strip solar cells from one or more wafer frame portions in a substantially simultaneous manner.

The present invention also receives a plurality of elongated pieces interconnected and spaced apart from one another by one or more connecting portions, each said elongated piece facing outward. An edge and a plane perpendicular to the edge, the edge of each elongated piece includes a first edge and a second edge, wherein the first edge of the elongated piece has a first orientation and is removed One or more in a substantially simultaneous manner while maintaining the relative orientation of the edges to provide a plurality of removed elongated pieces, with the first edge of the pieces having the same orientation An elongated strip removal process is provided that includes removing the strip from the connecting portion.

  Preferably, the elongated strips include elongated strip solar cells, and the edges of each elongated strip solar cell have opposite polarities.

Conveniently, the process engages the edges of the elongated strip,
Removing one or more connecting portions from the mated elongated strip to provide a plurality of detached and spaced apart elongated strips; and It may include removing pieces that are spaced apart from one another to group into a continuous stack.

Conveniently, the process
In order to mate with one or more connecting portions and to form a stacked stack of elongated strips, each of the elongated strips from the one or more connecting portions is successively connected in a substantially simultaneous manner. May be included.

Conveniently, the process
Meshes with one or more connections,
Removing strips from the one or more connecting portions to engage the edges of the strips and provide a plurality of detached and spaced strips. .

  Conveniently, the edges of the elongated strip may be interlocked with adhesive tape.

  Preferably, the process includes placing strips of strips that are separated and spaced apart from one another in a storage device, and removing the strip edges to form a bundled stack of strips. In addition.

  The present invention also provides an elongated strip removal device having components for performing any one step of the process described above.

The invention also provides
Two opposing portions for mating with respective edges of one or more connecting portions of a plurality of spaced apart strips interconnected by the one or more connecting portions; A clamp having each of said elongated pieces having a plane perpendicular to said edge, said faces having a relative orientation, and said two opposing portions being substantially transverse to a longitudinal axis of said elongated piece A strip removal device is provided that includes an alignment slot for receiving a respective guide of the strip storage device.

  Preferably, the two opposing portions include a flexible surface to engage the edge of the elongated strip without damaging the edge.

  Conveniently, the flexible surface is at least partially tacky.

  The present invention also provides for each of the one or more connecting portions, or each of the clamps interlocking with the edges of a plurality of spaced apart elongated strips interconnected by the one or more connecting portions. Including an elongated strip storage device having a plurality of elongated guides to coincide with the alignment slots, the edges having a relative orientation, and when the guides coincide with the slots, the elongated guides are adjacent and the An elongated strip removal device is provided that is arranged to be substantially perpendicular to the opposing edges of the elongated strip.

  Preferably, the elongated piece storage device includes an offset holding plate to hold the elongated piece removed in a compressed state.

  Preferably, the elongated piece storage device includes a base adapted to break the elongated piece at or near the end of the elongated piece when the base is pushed into the elongated piece.

  The present invention also provides two for interfacing one or more connecting portions of a plurality of spaced apart elongated strips, wherein the strip removal lamp is interconnected by one or more connecting portions. Each of the elongated pieces has an outwardly directed edge and a plane perpendicular to the edge, while the two opposing portions retain the relative orientation of the edge, An elongated strip removal clamp is provided that includes an opening through which the edges of the strip are engaged so that substantially simultaneous removal of the strip from the one or more connecting portions is possible.

  The elongated strip removal process and apparatus described herein allows for convenient and cost effective separation from the wafer. Embodiments of the present invention advantageously preserve the orientation and polarity of the isolated elongated strip cells and provide a clean, organized arrangement for the next process or assembly stage.

  In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, a method for removing elongated solar cells from an original wafer frame is provided. A wafer containing a set or array of elongated strip cells is cut or folded to expose one side of the elongated strip solar cell array. The wafer is secured to a clamp that contacts the edge of the wafer outside the elongated cell array area in the plane of the wafer. One or more prepared wafers are clamped to provide a flat grid, or a flat array of exposed strips of solar cell surface. The number of wafers clamped in the array may be equal to the number of elongated strip solar cells required to form the above-described sub-module assembly of an elongated strip raft, elongated strip mesh raft, or strip strip boat. .

  In one form of the invention, the exposed elongated strip solar cells from each wafer of the clamped wafer array are removed as a flat array arrangement in one operation by mechanical means such as a vacuum mating tool. It is. In another form of the invention, the exposed elongate solar cells from each wafer clamped in an array are arranged as elongate strip solar cells on each of the elongate strip rafts, elongate strip boats or horizontal beams or substrates described above, or Elongated strip mesh rafts are removed as a flat array by a fast curing adhesive that adheres directly and permanently to the electrical interconnect array. In yet another aspect of the invention, the exposed elongated strip cells from each wafer transport or move the elongated strip solar cells with a flat array format and a relative spacing between the constituent elongated strip solar cells. It is removed as an array by a reusable sticky surface that temporarily adheres to the mechanism. In yet another aspect of the invention, the exposed elongated solar cells from each clamped wafer in the wafer array use electrostatic attraction that temporarily bonds the elongated solar cells to a transport or transfer mechanism, Removed as an array arrangement.

  In accordance with the above-described form of the present invention, the elongated strip solar cells from the wafer are always positively engaged to ensure that the correct orientation and polarity of the elongated strip solar cells can be maintained. The elongated strip solar cells are also assembled directly into an elongated strip raft, elongated strip mesh raft, or elongated strip boat sub-module, following separation of a flat array of elongated strip cells from the wafer, and any intermediate handling during that time Or avoid storage steps involving separate strips of cells to preserve the orientation, polarity, and relative position of the constituent strips of solar cells.

  In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the elongated strip solar cells are separated from a single wafer, the separated elongated strip solar cells are handled, and the elongated strip solar cells, for example, having at least partially exposed surfaces are sequentially disposed. A method of storing elongated strip solar cells that are removed from a wafer frame in the form of a bulk storage unit, such as a feeding cassette, is provided. Separate strips of solar cells are stored in multiple mass storage units that are sequentially assembled to provide a grid or array of flat strips of formed strips with accessible strips of solar cells within each unit. May be. This flat arrangement can embody the desired relative position and orientation of the elongated strip solar cells within the raft or boat array.

  In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, it is already removed from the original wafer frame and sequentially included in the form of a mass storage unit, such as a cassette that sequentially provides elongated strip solar cells having at least partially exposed surfaces. A method for handling elongated small piece solar cells is provided. Multiple mass storage units, or cassettes, are accessible strips within each unit with the required uniform spacing between the edges of the strips of final strip cells given by the spacing between the storage units or cassettes. It may be assembled to provide a grid or array of flatly arranged elongated strip solar cells formed by solar cells. This flat arrangement of a given cell embodies the required relative position and orientation of the elongated strip solar cells within the finished elongated strip raft, elongated strip mesh raft or elongated strip boat solar cell array.

  In another form of the invention, a stack of elongated strip solar cells may be assembled into a complete multilayer stack unit, which preferably incorporates a number of separated stacks of separated elongated strip cells efficiently. One unit. The stacking pitch of the strips is selected according to the required strip spacing or pitch of the strip strip rafts required within the final strip strip raft, strip strip raft, or strip strip boat unit.

  In the case of an elongated strip solar cell array assembled from a number of single stacks, the number of cassettes or bulk elongated strip battery storage units is to form an elongated strip raft, an elongated strip mesh raft, or an elongated strip boat submodule. Equal to the number of elongated strip solar cells required. Alternatively, the elongated strip battery sub-module array is composed of one cassette or a grouped single stack cassette using one or more repeated separation and assembly operations.

  In one form of the invention, an exposed or first from each single stack cassette, a group of single stack cassettes, or a set of individual single stack cassettes, or a combined multi-layer stack cassette. A given elongated strip solar cell is removed by mechanical means such as a vacuum engagement tool. In another form of the invention, an exposed elongated strip of sun from each single stack cassette, a group of single stack cassettes, or a set of individual single stack cassettes, or a combined multi-layer stack cassette. The cell is applied to the elongated strip boat substrate that is fed to the strip strip raft horizontal beam, strip strip mesh raft electrical connection wire, or exposed strip strip solar cell in strip strip stacking mechanism. Removed by fast-cure adhesives that adhere directly and permanently.

  In a further form of the invention, the exposed elongated strip solar cells from each single stack cassette, a group of single stack cassettes, or a set of individual single stack cassettes, or a combined multilayer stack cassette are: , Removed by a reusable sticky surface that temporarily bonds the exposed or partially exposed elongated strip solar cell array to the transport or transfer mechanism. In a further form of the invention, the exposed elongated strip solar cells from each single stack cassette, a group of single stack cassettes, or a set of individual single stack cassettes, or a combined multilayer stack cassette are: The strip is removed as a complete sub-module assembly array of strips using electrostatic attraction that temporarily bonds the strips to the transport or transfer mechanism.

  In this aspect of the invention, elongated strip solar cells, a group of elongated strip solar cells, a partial or complete arrangement of elongated strip solar cells removed from a single stack cassette, a group of single stack cassettes, The combined multi-layer stack cassette is always active to ensure correct orientation and polarity, and a correct, regular or repeating pattern of spacing between elongated strip solar cells in a partial or complete submodule assembly array. Meshed together. Withdrawn elongated strip solar cells avoid intermediate handling and storage steps, e.g., elongate immediately following separation from a single stack cassette, a group of single stack cassettes, or a combined multi-layer stack cassette. Directly assembled into sub-module assemblies such as small rafts, elongated strip mesh rafts, or elongated strip boats.

  In yet another aspect of the present invention, a mechanism defined as an elongated small battery cassette supply is provided for a method of handling an elongated small battery contained therein. The cassette feeder supplies a single elongated strip battery to an array of aligned and properly oriented elongated strip cells with a selected array pitch or a repeated pattern of spacing between the strip strip cells. The array pitch is selected according to the required location of the individual elongated strip cells within the elongated strip raft, elongated mesh raft, or elongated strip boat sub-module assembly. The elongated strip battery cassette feeder preferably places a single elongated strip battery in a machined groove or slot in an alignment jig made from metal or plastic or other rigid material.

  Preferably, the position of the grooves or slots in the alignment jig is relative to the position of the elongated strip solar cells, or the array pitch, or the strips forming the strip strip raft, strip mesh raft, or strip strip boat sub-module assembly. It has a lateral pitch that matches the repeated pattern of spacing between cells. The elongated strip solar cells are preferably separated from the base of the elongated strip battery cassette feeder by the approaching walls of the grooves or slots in the alignment jig so that the elongated strip battery cassette feeder traverses the grooves or slots in the alignment jig. Removed mechanically. The depth of the groove is preferably greater than the thickness of the elongated strip solar cell so that only one solar cell at a time is engaged by the groove or slot wall in the alignment jig and removed from the elongated strip battery supply cassette. Also slightly shallow. The width of the grooves or slots in the alignment jig allows the strips of solar cells to be aligned in the alignment jig with the appropriate edge spacing without being jammed difficult to remove the supplied array or being crushed by the strip of small battery supply cassette. Or, as it is placed in the slot, it is preferably slightly wider than the width of the elongated strip solar cell.

  The elongated strip battery supply cassette has a back gate that is slightly higher than the upper surface or face of the elongated solar cell, preferably in the groove or slot of the alignment jig. This is because the elongated strip solar cell adjacent to the elongated strip solar cell supplied in the feeder until the next empty groove or slot in the alignment jig is provided by the relative movement of the elongated strip battery supply cassette and the alignment jig. Ensure that the battery is held in an elongated strip battery supply cassette. The upper portion of the elongated strip battery supply cassette is preferably enclosed and includes a follower plate and a weight or spring mechanism that applies pressure to the stack of elongated strip battery supply cassettes.

  The stacking pressure is selected to ensure that the leading edge of the bottom elongated strip solar cell engages the far side of the groove or slot wall in the alignment jig. The pressure that continues to be applied on the stack ensures that the elongated strip solar cells near the bottom level out at the bottom of the groove or slot in the alignment jig. Once the elongated strip solar cell is flattened at the bottom of the groove and held there by the pressure transferred from the stack of adjacent elongated strip solar cells, the back gate of the supply cassette is held by the elongated strip solar cell Clean the back gate and top surface of the battery. This sequence of removing the strips of cells from the stack in the supply cassette and placing the strips of strips removed in the grooves or slots in the alignment jig is such that the supply cassette is metal until all the grooves or slots are filled. Or, as you continue to carry a rigid plastic or polymer alignment jig, it is repeated for every groove or slot in the alignment jig that forms the array. The trailing double-ended ski mechanism, like the back gate of the elongated strip battery supply cassette, holds the elongated strip solar cells in the groove so that they do not turn over or jam, and is elongated Adjacent elongated strip solar cells held in the strip supply cassette slide over the leading edge of the elongated strip solar cells held in the grooves or slots of the alignment jig.

  In this form of the invention, the elongated strip solar cells do not require individual placement, mating, and removal of a single elongated strip cell, as in the case of a conventional pinching process, It is clear that it is removed from the supply cassette and held in a repeating pattern of spacing between the elongated strip solar cells in a regular flat array or alignment jig.

  The movement of the elongated strip battery supply cassette is such that the number of elongated strip solar cells required is within a groove or slot in the alignment jig to form an elongated strip raft, elongated strip mesh raft, or elongated strip submodule assembly arrangement. Continue until supplied. In one form of the invention, a horizontal beam, prepared electrical interconnect wire, or substrate required to complete an elongated strip raft, elongated strip mesh raft, or elongated strip boat sub-module array is horizontal. Prepared in advance with an adhesive in an area where the beam or substrate surface coincides with the surface of the elongated strip solar cell. Horizontal beams, wires prepared and bent for electrical interconnection, or elongated strip rafts, elongated strip mesh rafts, or substrates required to complete an elongated strip boat assembly are mechanical stability and electrical Applied to the top surface of the array to provide mechanical interconnects and bonded thereto to provide mechanical stability with conventional adhesives such as, for example, SMT IR-130 thermosetting adhesive, or Bonded in place using conductive epoxy, such as electrodag 5915, which can be heat cured, or using conventional reflow operations to provide mechanical support and electrical interconnections , Soldered in place. More preferably and conveniently, the selected wave solder process is used to provide mechanical support and electrical interconnection without requiring the supply of solder paste or screen printing for subsequent reflow. Is done.

  Alternatively, horizontal beams, prepared and bent electrical wire interconnects, or substrates, along with adhesive material, are prepared by stencil printing or printing or feeding and support grooves or supports aligned with grooves or slots in alignment jigs Placed in the device. The elongated strip solar cells are placed on the support structure and electrical interconnect material in the usual manner with the elongated strip battery supply cassette. The sub-module assembly arrangement is then completed by thermosetting or solder paste reflow as described above. More preferably and conveniently, the sub-module assembly formed in the horizontal beam, the prepared and bent wire interconnect, or the substrate is clamped in the alignment jig, turned over, and the selective wave soldering process is Mechanical support and finished electrical interconnection, without requiring solder paste supply or screen printing for the next reflow, and without the thermosetting process step to cure the adhesive or electrically conductive material Used to give.

  The supply of elongated strip solar cells to the metal jig may be continuous or semi-continuous. That is, for continuous assembly, an elongated piece raft, an elongated piece mesh raft, or an elongated piece boat may be formed into a long metal jig in a continuous or unbroken manner. For semi-continuous assembly, an elongated piece raft, an elongated piece mesh raft, or an elongated piece boat, each grooved portion is as long as an individual elongated piece raft, an elongated piece mesh raft, or an elongated piece boat, It may be formed into a separated or half-separated jig. These individual jig sections are attached to a chain or belt conveyor to provide a linear assembly concept for an elongated piece raft, an elongated piece mesh raft, or an elongated piece boat.

  In the continuous or semi-continuous procedure described above, horizontal beams, prepared and bent electrical wire interconnects, or the same approach to grouping the assembly of substrates is incorporated into a continuous or semi-continuous alignment jig. . The elongated strip solar cells are placed in a conventional manner with the elongated strip battery supply cassette in a position above the support structure and the electrical interconnect material contained in the continuous or semi-continuous alignment jig portion. The processing of the sub-module assembly arrangement contained in the individual alignment jig portions is completed by thermosetting or solder paste reflow as described above.

  More preferably, and conveniently, the sub-module assembly formed in a horizontal beam, the prepared and bent electrical wire interconnect, or the substrate contained in a continuous or semi-continuously aligned jig portion is aligned. The jig is flipped over and clamped, and the selective wave soldering process requires no supply of solder paste or screen printing for the next reflow and heat to cure the adhesive or electrically conductive material Used to provide mechanical support and complete electrical interconnection without a curing process step. Using this feed cassette technology, continuous or semi-continuous alignment jig sections on conveyors, belts, or chains flip the clamped submodule assembly and meet mechanical support and electrical interconnection requirements. Complete and use expensive wave soldering process, along with expensive materials, cleaning and waste processing related to stencil printing and supply, expensive technical requirements, time consumption of stencil printing or supply, and Provides a continuous, in-line assembly process that completely eliminates yield resolution steps.

  In various forms of the invention disclosed above, for wafer elongated strip solar cells, a single stack cassette, a group of single stack cassettes, or a vacuum mating tool for a combined multi-layer stack cassette, or an alignment jig The feeding operation of the elongated strip battery cassette feeder is always relative to each of the wafer array, elongated strip stack, multilayer stack cassette, or alignment jig. That is, the vacuum mating tool is stationary and the wafer array, single stack cassette, group of single stack cassettes, or grouped multi-layer stack cassettes can be applied individually or elongated to a given strip of small piece solar cells. It may be moved to remove as a flat array of solar cells. Similarly, the elongated strip battery supply cassette is stationary and the grooved alignment jig may be moved to supply the elongated strip solar cells to the grooves of the metal alignment jig. In addition, the movable alignment jig may be in the form of a single elongated piece raft, elongated piece mesh raft or elongated piece boat suitable for holding a chain conveyor or other suitable transport mechanism. Also good. If the assembly of elongated solar cells into sub-module assemblies is performed in a continuous manner, the transport mechanism can include an adhesive curing stage and an electrical connection stage or a linear fashion selective wave solder. You can continue through the stage.

  One or more single stack cassettes, a group of single stack cassettes, or a combined multi-layer stack cassette, or mass storage unit constitutes an accessible elongated small piece solar cell within each unit or set of units May be used to provide a grid or array of exposed or partially exposed strips of solar cells. Many cassettes or buffer storage units have an accessible elongated strip solar cell in each unit relative to other elongated strip solar cells to form an elongated strip raft, an elongated strip mesh raft, or an elongated strip boat assembly. Are relatively arranged in a grid or array so as to have the correct position and orientation. The number of cassettes or mass storage units in the arrangement is equal to the number of elongated strip solar cells required to form an elongated strip raft, an elongated strip mesh raft, or an elongated strip boat. Elongated strip solar cells from each unit, exposed, partially exposed and accessible, eg vacuum interlocking tool, fast curing adhesive, separated from wafer and then assembled into a raft or boat Machines, such as reusable sticky surfaces, electrostatic attraction or other suitable temporary interlocking and removal techniques, or permanent interlocking techniques to sub-module assembly support structures, after which the elongated strip solar cells are removed May be removed by other means. Regardless of whether the elongated strip engagement process is permanent or temporary, the removed collection or flat array of elongated solar cells is assembled directly into an elongated strip raft, an elongated strip mesh raft, or an elongated strip boat. . During the moving process, the separated elongated strip solar cells are held on the moving tool with a repeating pattern in which the orientation and relative position or spacing between the cells is maintained.

  From the elongated strip cells contained in the original wafer, or from the separated strip cells contained in a single stack cassette, a group of single stack cassettes, or a combined multi-layer stack cassette, or strip feed cassette The assembly of elongated strip rafts, elongated strip mesh rafts, or elongated strip boats does not require large scale accuracy and automation, such as equipment currently considered necessary for large strip strip solar cell module assembly, for example. Achieved with a small, inexpensive device.

According to a further aspect of the invention,
Receiving a wafer comprising a plurality of elongated substrates interconnected by a lateral wafer frame portion, the wafer comprising an adjacent distal wafer frame portion;
Removing at least one of the adjacent distal wafer frame portions to expose a corresponding substrate surface of the elongated substrate;
Engaging at least one of the lateral wafer frame portions to secure the plurality of elongated substrates without engaging the edges of the plurality of elongated substrates;
Applying the elongated substrate mating means to the exposed surface of the exposed elongated substrate for mating with the exposed elongated substrate, and removing the exposed elongated substrate from the remaining elongated substrate from a plurality of elongated substrates A substrate removal process is provided that includes moving the elongated substrate mating means.

According to a further aspect of the invention,
Receiving a plurality of wafers, each of the wafers including a plurality of elongated substrates interconnected by a lateral wafer frame portion, the wafer further including an adjacent distal wafer frame portion;
Removing at least one of the proximal end wafer frame portions from each of the wafers to expose a corresponding substrate surface of each wafer elongated substrate;
Engaging at least one of the lateral wafer frame portions of each wafer to secure the plurality of elongated substrates without engaging the edges of the plurality of elongated substrates;
The elongated wafer provides a substrate removal process that is arranged such that an exposed elongated substrate is provided as an array of elongated substrates spaced from each other.

According to a further aspect of the invention,
A plurality of spaced apart elongated substrate storage containers are provided, each of the elongated substrate storage containers having a stack of elongated substrates stored therein, the spacing between the elongated substrate storage containers being stored. To be assembled from the elongated substrates, an elongated substrate supply process is provided that includes selecting to provide the desired spacing of the elongated substrates within the solar cell submodule.

According to a further aspect of the invention,
A photovoltaic device comprising: providing an elongated solar cell from an elongated substrate supply unit to each slot of an alignment jig; and attaching the elongated solar cell to a substrate, horizontal beam or electrical interconnect to form a solar cell sub-module. A process is provided for forming a solar cell submodule for a power device.

According to a further aspect of the invention,
Alignment having an elongated substrate supply unit for storing and supplying one or more stacks of elongated substrates, and slots spaced from each other to receive each elongated substrate supplied from the storage unit An elongated substrate handling system is provided that includes a jig.

According to a further aspect of the invention,
An interlocking tool having a plurality of spaced apart interlocking portions such that only spaced apart regions of the electrical interconnect are engaged by the tool, and meshing with the electrical interconnect; And applying a cutting tool at the location of the electrical interconnect between the engaged areas to cut the engaged electrical interconnect to the corresponding length of the electrical interconnect. A process is provided for forming a solar cell submodule for a power device.

  In this specification, the term “slab” refers to a particular shape of an elongated substrate, preferably incorporating one or more solar cells, but need not be so. The planks are made by machining parallel grooves in the wafer to produce a series of parallel elongated substrates, referred to herein as planks. The width of the plank is determined by the spacing of the machined grooves, and the length of the plank is typically 5 to 20 times the width of the plank. The thickness of the plank is determined by the thickness of the wafer, which is usually less than 400 microns.

  In another aspect, the present invention provides a process for removing planks from a wafer and mounting them on a solar cell module.

  In one form of the invention, the plank is pre-cut partially at the ends to facilitate folding from the wafer frame. The entire array of planks is stacked in a plank “slab” frame, where individual stacks are removed and stored in a single stack cassette or multiple stack cassettes.

  In another form of the invention, all second planks are removed and stacked in a multi-layer stack cassette.

  In another form of the invention, the planks are individually removed and stacked in a single stack cassette.

  In another form of the invention, the plank wafer is held by top and bottom surfaces covering a plank array window in the clamp that leaves four or more portions of the exposed wafer frame. The plank wafer frame is sequentially removed by folding four or more exposed parts.

  Some processes are used to place the planks on storage cassettes or feeders. The cassette is loaded from the top. In this case, the upper surface of the cassette and the upper surface of the clamp, where the upper surface of the plank in or previously stored in the cassette forms a moving sliding surface so that the plank does not turn over or jam at the upper corner of the cassette It is important to be close enough to the plane. The back edge of the plank that enters the cassette is removed from the front edge of the plank, leaving or leaving the moving sliding surface. These two requirements are met by a mechanically coupled spring mechanism. A mechanically coupled mechanism grabs the edge of the plate cell stack, makes it level with the top loading surface of the cassette, and stacks at the distance of the plate cell thickness plus the required spacing and tolerances. Press and activate two pairs of “walking beams”. The plank battery is slid into the cassette and the process repeats.

  In another form of the invention, the cassette is mounted from the base. The walking beam system is similar to the top-loading mechanism, but lifts the stack of cassettes by the amount required to provide spacing. A new plank is placed on the base of the cassette. The cycle continues until the cassette is full.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides:
Only the opposing surface of each elongated substrate is engaged, and the engaged surface is the same plane as the surface of the wafer,
Removing the elongated substrates from the wafer frame portion to separate them from one another;
For removing an elongated substrate from a wafer incorporating a plurality of elongated substrates interconnected by a wafer frame portion, including removing one of the surfaces of each elongated substrate and leaving the other surface of each elongated substrate engaged. Give process.

This invention
The elongated substrate only engages with a selected non-adjacent substrate and separates the elongated substrate from the other elongated substrates in the array;
Interconnection by wafer frame portions comprising placing interdigitated elongated substrates in respective spaced-apart storage containers of the storage unit, wherein the spacing between the storage containers matches the spacing of the interdigitated elongated substrates A process is provided for removing an elongated substrate from a wafer incorporating an array of elongated substrates.

The invention also provides
(1) meshes with one substrate of the elongated substrate and separates the elongated substrate from the other elongated substrates in the array;
(2) Place an elongated substrate meshed with the storage unit,
(3) removing an elongated substrate from a wafer incorporating an array of elongated substrates interconnected by a wafer frame portion, comprising repeating steps (1) and (2) to form a stack of elongated substrates in a storage unit; Give the process to remove.

  The present invention also provides a storage device for storing elongated substrates in a stacked arrangement, the storage device being stored elongated so that it can receive an elongated substrate that is subsequently received for storage in the storage device. A moving mechanism for moving the stack of substrates is included.

(Sub module formation)
Referring to FIG. 1, elongated solar cells 101 and horizontal beams 102 are assembled to form a sub-module, referred to herein as a “raft” sub-module 100. The spacing between adjacent elongated solar cells 101 is shown to be approximately equal to the width of each cell, as shown in FIG. 1, but in the general case, the spacing between cells 101 is zero (hence Adjacent batteries are in contact with each other) to several times the width of each battery. The horizontal beam 102 is formed from any material and preferably from a thin, non-electrically conductive material (or covered with an insulating material) and easily and selected with a conductive track. Covered. For example, a thin piece of silicon having a thickness of 30 to 100 microns, a width of 1 to 3 mm, and a length of 2 to 20 cm is particularly suitable for the horizontal beam 102. The battery 101 is mechanically attached to the horizontal beam 102 by using an adhesive, or metal solder, or a conductive epoxy or similar material.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the series or parallel electrical connection between the solar cells 101 connecting the n-type contact 202 of each battery 101 to the p-type contact 203 of the adjacent battery is spaced from each other in the horizontal beam 102. This is done by placing the conductive material 201 in the separated area. The conductive material is a vapor-deposited metal film, a bonded metal foil, a B-stage conductive adhesive film, or a conductive epoxy. If the material from which the horizontal beam 102 is manufactured is not itself electrically insulating, then the spacing of the conductive material 201 is such that the insulating material is exposed in the gaps between the conductive materials 201. Between the spaced apart regions or on the horizontal beam 102 in any of a continuous layer along the length of the horizontal beam 102 before the conductive material 201 is placed. Electronic devices such as bypass diodes and logic devices are included in suitable circuits.

  Referring to FIG. 3, a solar cell 101 is formed on a continuous or semi-continuous substrate 301 to form a sub-module 300 mold, represented herein as a “boat” sub-module. Assembled. In some applications, a transparent or translucent material is used as the array support material, in which case the material forms a superstrate support for the array of elongated solar cells so that the solar cells are illuminated through the transparent superstrate. . As with the raft described above, the spacing between adjacent elongated solar cells in the array ranges from zero to several times the width of each elongated solar cell. The continuous or semi-continuous substrate, or the continuous or semi-continuous transparent or translucent superstrate 301 is preferably a non-conductive material (or covered with an insulating material), Intermittently covered with electrically conductive tracks 201 and has a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of silicon to avoid damage during thermal cycling. For particularly rigid support structure applications, silicon and borosilicate glass are suitable substrates, and borosilicate glass is a suitable superstrate. However, it is clear that other materials with a wide variety can be used instead.

  Still referring to FIG. 3, a solar cell 101 is a continuous or semi-continuous flexible or flexible substrate 301 to form a mold for a submodule 300, referred to herein as a “flexible boat”. Assembled on top. In some applications, a flexible, transparent or translucent material is used as the array support material, where the flexible material is used to form a superstrate support for the array of elongated solar cells. The spacing between adjacent elongated solar cells in the flexible array ranges from zero to several times the width of each elongated solar cell. The continuous or semi-continuous flexible substrate or the continuous or semi-continuous transparent or translucent flexible superstrate 301 is preferably a non-conductive material (or covered with an insulating material), It is easily covered with continuous or intermittent electrically conductive tracks 201.

  Conveniently, the optically transparent substrate material allows the back reflection to be either a sub-module assembly or a photovoltaic power module to recover light passing through the gaps in the elongated solar cell array forming a flexible boat. Used to apply to. In addition, transparent substrates or superstrate materials are required for transparent or truly two-sided photovoltaic power modules, such as architectural installations, building integrated installations, highway Used to form transparent or translucent photovoltaic power modules based on flexible boat sub-module assemblies for use in noise barriers or other applications.

  The flexible material used for the flexible boat substrate or superstrate is very thin and also moderately flexible, with a coefficient of thermal expansion such as a rigid support structure such as a rigid boat and a flat two-dimensional surface. It does not have to fit well with that of silicon, as in the case of raft shapes that require a high degree of rigidity.

  Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), for example, a Teflon-based film such as Tefzel®, such as a commercially available polyimide family element in the form of a Kapton® film, sheet, or tape A temperature-resistant polymer is an example of a suitable substrate material that is temperature-stable, has a wide variety of thermal expansion coefficients, and constitutes a sufficiently stable substrate structure material. Similarly, these materials are used to form superstrate support structures where transparency requirements are met. In fact, with appropriate thermal, mechanical, chemical and optical properties, lifetime, and stability under typical PV operating conditions, excessive thermal expansion mismatch on the boat during thermal cycling A flexible material without stress is used.

  Multiple solar cells formed by the process described in the Scheibenstock or Sliver® patent application have a similar size, photovoltaic raft, mesh raft, or boat Even if it is used to form and has substantially different current and voltage characteristics, it is used in place of conventional solar cells. Elongated solar cells other than silicon, for example made from GaAs, are also used. The solar cells are electrically interconnected in series, in parallel, or in a series-parallel mix to provide the desired raft, mesh raft, or boat submodule output voltage and corresponding current. Rafts, mesh rafts, or rafts when a small number of these submodule assemblies are connected in series to form a group in which boats are connected in parallel or substantially connected in parallel If the output voltage of the mesh raft or boat sub-module is sufficiently large, then the effect of the raft, mesh raft, or boat module output has a plurality of elongate, having a low current (eg caused by shading) A single large cell sized to match the sub-module assembly of a solar cell is smaller than a conventional photovoltaic module that is partially shaded.

  The additional use of rafts, mesh rafts, or horizontal tracks in boat sub-modules or conductive tracks on the board, electrically connects electrodes on one long edge of an elongated solar cell to electrodes on the other edge of the same elongated cell. Is to connect to. For example, an n-type contact (negative electrode) on one edge of an elongated battery is connected to an n-type contact on the other edge of the same battery. A p-type contact (positive electrode) on one edge of the elongated cell is connected to a p-type contact on the other edge of the same elongated solar cell. The special elongate solar cell n-type and p-type contacts are electrically separated from each other to avoid short circuiting of the cell.

  One reason for electrically connecting electrical contacts or electrodes on two separate edges of the same elongated solar cell is to reduce electrical resistance losses due to current across the width of the elongated solar cell. This is particularly important for elongated solar cells as the width of the cells increases, which is used for use under concentrated sunlight where the current flow is high due to the high intensity of illumination. Designed for. For a given current, the resistance loss in the cell between the two electrodes is proportional to the square of the width of the elongated solar cell. But if n-type contacts are on both long edges, p-type contacts are only on one edge, or p-type contacts are on both edges, and n-type contacts are only on one edge If present, then the effective “electric” width of the cell (for electrical resistance purposes) is halved, and therefore the resistance loss within the elongated solar cell is ¼. An elongate solar cell with this arrangement of contacts is double in width and has a standard design width elongate solar cell with only n-type contacts on one edge and p-type contacts on the other edge Have the same resistance loss.

  FIG. 4 shows one way to use a raft horizontal beam 407 to electrically connect two edges 401 of the same polarity of an elongated solar cell. Similar functions are achieved using a boat substrate rather than horizontal beams, and the same electrical interconnection is performed on the surface area of the boat substrate or transparent boat superstrate. In this case, only the n-type contact 401 of the n-type diffusion 403 on each edge of the elongated battery 101 is electrically connected using the track 405 of the horizontal beam 407. This arrangement is suitable for an electrically resistive elongate solar cell dominated by an n-type diffused emitter (that of an elongate two-sided solar cell that covers the wide surface on each side of the cell). If the electrical resistance of the substrate is also an important factor, then n-type and p-type contacts are placed on each edge and electrically connected to reduce or minimize electrical resistance. The

  A series connection between adjacent solar cells 101 in an elongate solar cell raft sub-module assembly is made from a p-type contact 408 of one cell's p-type diffusion 404 to a pre-formed track on a substrate or transparent superstrate material. It is connected to the n-type contact 402 of the adjacent battery through the metal coating 406. Some types of elongated solar cells have metal coatings placed as electrodes and electrical contacts on the edges of the solar cells. During the assembly of a raft, mesh raft, or boat submodule assembly, the metallization of the elongated solar cell electrode covers the periphery of one face of the solar cell immediately adjacent to the edge, but preferably directly on the edge. Adjacent, but when incorporated into a solar cell power module, does not cover other or opposing surfaces that are directed toward the top surface or solar side of the submodule assembly during operation.

  Referring to FIG. 5, suitable wound electrodes are formed on adjacent surfaces of each solar cell by metal deposition from an oblique angle. During deposition, the angle of deposition 502 and the spacing 503 between adjacent faces of the elongated solar cell 101 is such that the degree or extent of metal coverage across the elongated solar cell face 501 adjacent to the exposed edge is controlled. Can be. This arrangement is used with a shadow mask along the length of the elongated solar cell to make the partial metallization intermittent so that the shading of the solar cell by the metal in operation is proportionally reduced Is done. The solar cell is held in a jig for the above-mentioned partial metallization purposes. Several methods of manufacturing several solar cells, such as the Sliver® process described in the Sliver patent application, are shown in FIG. 5 before being separated from the wafer frame, as described above. Naturally produce an array of batteries.

  Referring to FIG. 6, an elongated solar cell 101 having a partial metallization on the cell surface 601 is soldered to the elongated solar cell or otherwise electrically connected directly to a substrate or superstrate 603. Suitable for applications where Conductive track 602, electrical interconnect is applied directly to the conductive track 602 of the horizontal beam or substrate 603, conventional lead-tin solder, or lead-free solder, or conductive polymer, or conductive epoxy, or This is done using a conductive elastomer. The conductive track 602 can be horizontally aligned by screen printing, masked metal deposition, direct writing or printing of conductive ink or paste or organic material by inkjet printing, pad printing, B-stage transfer process, or other suitable material technology. Pre-applied or formed on the beam or superstrate.

  The connection 602 between the solar cell and the horizontal beam or substrate is a multi-purpose connection that provides an electrical connection, a thermal connection and a mechanical bond. For example, an elongated solar cell is fixed only by solder, which provides all of the appropriate electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. In addition, this avoids the need for other types of adhesives and the soldering is done without requiring a stencil printing, printing or dispensing form. This is a very important and very advantageous feature. This is because supplying solder paste or stencil printing to the extent necessary for mass production of submodule assemblies is an expensive process in terms of basic equipment tools, consumables and materials, time, and wasted placement.

  Removing the solder paste application step is an assembly by removing a series of slow process steps related to yield and reliability issues, such as printing, reflowing and cleaning, tool cleaning, consumables, and wasteful handling. Simplify the process. The entire solder process used to manufacture standard solar cell assemblies is expensive, single, clean, very fast, reliable, high yield, and does not require adhesives Simple process of forming solder interconnects that requires no tools, no additional expensive materials, no additional complicated handling steps, and no additional wasteful handling and disposal Replaced by steps. A particularly advantageous soldering process is described in an Australian provisional patent application filed Jun. 17, 2005, application number 2005031722, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

  If mounted on a horizontal beam or substrate, and if the elongated solar cells are spaced apart from each other, then some of the sunlight incident on the photovoltaic power module will be on the horizontal beam or substrate. Reach. The horizontal beam or substrate is textured or rough and is covered with a reflective material. As a result, most of this light is reflected and scattered so that the majority of this light is trapped in the photovoltaic module and has a high probability of crossing another elongated solar cell in the module. In particular, if the horizontal beam is mounted away from the surface in the solar direction, then the effective shading of the horizontal beam is reduced.

  It is advantageous to separate the solar cells from each other. For example, this reduces the number of solar cells required per square meter of solar power module area. When the reflector is placed behind the solar cell, then most of the incident light passing through the gaps between adjacent cells is reflected and trapped by all internal reflections, in which case the solar cells are later Cross. In the case of a sun tracking concentrator receiver, the angle range of incident light is much smaller than in the case of a non-tracking photovoltaic system. This allows a suitable back reflector to be designed with significantly higher performance than in a non-tracking system (so that it follows the basic laws of optics).

  Placing the solar cells apart from each other is also advantageous in the case of a two-sided elongated solar cell sub-module assembly, in particular to ensure a more uniform light distribution on each surface. For example, in a concentrator receiver system, the electrical series resistance loss at the emitter of a two-sided elongated solar cell constitutes an important loss mechanism for the system. If half of the light is directed from the sun to the surface, the series resistance loss and submodule assembly of the elongated solar cell is halved. In photovoltaic module applications that require the constituent solar cells to be heat sinked, the elongated solar cells are thermally connected to a horizontal beam or substrate. In a raft or boat submodule assembly, this thermal connection is made using a very thin layer of thermally conductive adhesive, or conventional adhesive with a sufficiently low thermal resistance, or between elongated solar cells and elongated solar cells. This is done by the material used to make the electrical connection between the battery and the substrate or horizontal beam. In particular, the electrical interconnections are made by using the solder process described above and the solder process described in the solder process patent, which provide excellent thermal contact to the horizontal beam or substrate of the elongated solar cell. . The horizontal beam or substrate is then attached to a suitable heat sink to allow excess heat to be drawn from the elongated solar cell. The use of a thin electrically insulating layer allows a good thermal connection between the solar cell and the heat sink without providing electrical conductivity between the elongated solar cell and the horizontal beam or substrate.

  Silicon is a highly thermally conductive material. Even when illuminated by concentrated sunlight, the entire surface of one of the elongated solar cells need not be directly connected to the heat sink. Heat is transferred laterally across the submodule assembly to the area where the heat sink is made along the length of the elongated solar cell that constitutes it. When elongate solar cells are electrically connected edge to edge, as in the boat embodiment, for example, not all elongate solar cells need to be connected to a heat sink. Heat flows from one elongated solar cell through an electrical connection to an adjacent elongated solar cell that is thermally attached to a heat sink. In some cases, heat flows across a number of elongate solar cells in this manner until it reaches a solar cell attached to a heat sink.

  Referring to FIG. 7, in another arrangement, elongated solar cells 101 are mounted on a thermally conductive substrate or heat sink 701. The substrate 701 is preferably formed from silicon or other thermally conductive material having a coefficient of thermal expansion substantially similar to that of the elongated solar cell 101. The substrate 701 is bonded to a thermally conductive protrusion 703 having a hole or cavity 704. A heat exchange fluid (eg, air, water, glycol, etc.) circulates in the cavity 704. The subsystem assembly shown in FIG. 7 is used as a microreceiver for a solar concentrator system. Such a subsystem may include a number of elongated solar cells that depend on voltage output requirements.

  In another embodiment, the sub-module assembly, represented as a “mesh raft”, as shown in FIG. 8, is a plurality of elongated strips held in place only by electrical interconnect material 2602. A thin, pre-bent of copper wire or similar material, excluding the requirement of conductive tracks formed by solar cells and typically metallized in the same way as support structures provided by horizontal beams or substrates. It is formed from the length.

  The electrical interconnects 2602 between the elongated cells 101 are formed from thin wires, which in some implementations are thicker than the elongated solar cells. The individual interconnect wires 2602 are formed from many single length wires, each longer than the distance between adjacent elongated solar cells in a mesh raft array. Details of forming these wire interconnects are described below.

The length of the short wire 2602 forming the electrical interconnect 2604 can be, for example, soldered or bonded with a conductive epoxy, or conductive elastomer, or other suitable electrically conductive material, and electrodes and conductive material 2604. An intermediate portion 2602 that extends between adjacent elongated solar cells in a mesh raft assembly between two contact arms that terminate in a to allow the formation of a reliable electrical connection 2604 between the electrodes of adjacent elongated cells. And an “S” shape, or “U” shape shown in FIG. 8, or another type, which provides a sufficiently long arm that runs along the electrodes of an elongated solar cell.

  The entire mesh raft wire interconnect is formed by a highly parallel process that avoids the need to pinch and place individual short wires used to interconnect elongated cells. Details of forming these wire interconnects are also disclosed in the above referenced international patent application.

  Conveniently, if a conductive epoxy, conductive polymer material, or conductive elastomer material is used for electrical interconnection, the mechanical or electrical connection is disconnected. The mechanical integrity is that the wire 2602 is turned into an elongated solar cell electrode with an adhesive or other conductive or non-conductive material only on the short part of the contact length between the wire arm and the electrode. Made by gluing. The electrical connection 2604 and the improved mechanical integrity make the electrical connection in a more convenient time and without the additional requirement for mechanical bonding outside the elongated solar cell and wire interconnect. Given later, using more convenient and reliable application processes for mechanically conductive materials. Alternatively, the soldering process is used to make electrical interconnections during the next assembly process stage.

  Preferably, the electrical connection is made using a wave solder process, more preferably using a selective wave solder process that eliminates the need for an intermediate bonding step. With appropriate clamps, the selective wave soldering process is similar to that described above for rafts, as described in the solder process patent application, for mesh rafts composed of elongated solar cells. Provides mechanical bonding and electrical interconnection.

  The mesh raft 800 described above is particularly suitable for flexible module structures. An elongated solar cell, in particular a thin elongated solar cell, is flexible along its length and is bent into a curve perpendicular to an elongated surface with a radius of curvature of only 2 cm, depending on the thickness. However, elongate solar cells are not flexible at all in a plane parallel to the plane, and even if the cell is several hundred microns wide, it breaks down before it becomes visible.

However, very thin wires are also very flexible, and very important for flexible module applications is that they bend equally in all directions perpendicular to the length axis of the wire. When the array is bent into a curve in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the elongated solar cell and then bent laterally along a curve in the same plane of orientation with respect to the thin elongated horizontal beam, for example a raft with elongated horizontal beams Such a grid of elongated solar cells is quite flexible in the longitudinal direction along the length of the elongated cell array. However, the array of elongated cells and elongated horizontal beams, when bonded to the grid, more importantly, is not very flexible in a plane that includes up to the longitudinal axis of the elongated cells and elongated horizontal beams. The introduction of thin, short wire interconnects provides mechanical support and bonding, similar to electrical interconnect 2603 , but reduces the stress introduced by bending in the plane of the mesh raft array.

  The submodule assembly described in this specification provides many advantages over the prior art. In particular, they do not require expensive equipment and the high degree of automatic control necessary to accurately position individual elongated solar cells over a large area.

  An elongate solar cell raft, mesh raft, or boat complete sub-module assembly is a convenient collective form of elongate solar cells that facilitate subsequent assembly of solar cell power modules. And it uses very slight variations of conventional equipment, materials, and handling processes and is considered a high voltage conventional battery in all respects.

  The use of thin wire interconnections for mesh raft submodule assemblies significantly reduces the shading of elongated solar cells, in particular the shading of the back portion of the elongated solar cells where the elongated solar cells are bonded to the horizontal beam, And excluding raft horizontal beam preparation and metallization.

  A flexible, sufficiently symmetric two-sided module is easily constructed using the thin wire mesh raft sub-module assembly process described in this specification, which is easy to bend in many planes, electrically A thin assembly of interconnected elongated solar cells is provided.

(Formation of electrical connection)
As shown in FIGS. 53, 54 and 55 , the elongated strip cell photovoltaic module includes a glass, polymer or resin based substrate 6102 having an array of elongated strip cells 6104 attached thereto. The elongated strip cell 6104 is non-conductive, preferably bonded to the substrate 6102 using a transparent adhesive 6302 , such as Dymax 429 or Dymax 4-20417, which are high It is a UV curable adhesive from the Dymax Light-Weld range of transparency. High transparency adhesives are preferred because they provide optical coupling to the face of the elongated strip that is directed toward the substrate 6102 . However, this bonding is instead done using anodic bonding, PMMA type adhesives, or bonding using suitable two-part or one-part heat-cured or UV-cured epoxies. Furthermore, the adhesive material does not need to be transparent if the two-sided nature of the elongated battery is not utilized, such as in the case of a collector receiver application. The elongated strip cell 6104 is electrically interconnected by a battery interconnect 6106 across the longitudinal axis of the elongated strip cell 6104 and a bus bar 6108 parallel to these axes. Busbar 6108 is formed from pre-tinned copper, but can also be formed from other metallic materials. Copper is preferred because of its high conductivity, and tin plating reduces the oxidation of the bus surface, but preferably has an elongated strip, for example 62/36/2 lead / tin / strip strip solder. It is included solder. However, different types of solder are used, including any solder in the range of lead-free solder, and tin plating is used for other solders, conductive epoxies, conductive silicones, conductive inks, and other protective and conductive Includes a protective coating. The cell interconnect 6106 can be a single part thermoset conductive epoxy adhesive, such as Acheson Electrodag 5915 or Elecolit 3043, or two such as Aheson Electrodag 5810. Solder containing a strip of conductive epoxy or strips, for example 62/36/2 lead / tin / strip strip solder, or lead-free solders such as solder from the SynTECH-LF range, for example Or alternatively from another conductive material or combination of conductive materials.

Any of the electrical interconnections can be done using solder, wire bonding, or anodic bonding in which an electrically conductive path is formed in the glass substrate, or for example colloidal silver paste, electrically conductive epoxy, electrically conductive silicone, Instead, it is formed by the application of an electrically conductive ink, or an electrically conductive material such as an electrically conductive polymer. These materials are placed using one of a variety of techniques, including stencil printing, screen printing, dispensing, pump printing, ink jet printing or stamping transfer methods after the battery 6104 is placed on the substrate 6102 .

Alternatively, the battery 6104 is already secured to the substrate or superstrate 6102 and placed on a preformed interconnect. These preformed interconnect includes an elongated between pieces battery 6104, and an elongated piece battery having sequence bus is used to link with the portion of the sequence of elongated pieces battery to form the electronic circuitry 6108 Form between.

  As described above, these interconnects need not be formed by the same conductive material, either in the battery array or between the battery array and the busbar or array submodule interconnect, for example as described above. Single conductive material or any combination of materials.

For example, battery interconnections are made with conductive epoxy and bus electrical interconnections are made with solder. Alternatively, battery interconnections are made with solder and busbar electrical interconnections are made with conductive epoxy. In addition, hybrid interconnects are used, for example, by soldering to a conductive epoxy or silver loaded ink material, or using conductive compounds to connect to solder tracks or joints. Further, the elongated strip battery 6104 can be electrically interconnected within the sub-module assembly before the sub-module assembly is mounted on the substrate 6102 or electrically connected to other sub-modules or main bus assembly. The connected and resulting array of submodules is electrically interconnected using the material selections or combinations described above.

Any of the above-described techniques, or combinations of techniques, may include battery interconnections 6106 that electrically interconnect modules or sub-module parts, or individual elongated pieces or sections of elongated piece arrays, busbars 6108 or module parts. Used to connect to.

As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 55 , the elongated small cell 6104 is bonded to a glass or polymer or resin-based substrate 6102 with an adhesive 6302 . The thickness of the substrate 6102 is typically from a fraction of a millimeter to a few millimeters. After forming the adhesive and electrical connections, an EVA encapsulating resin layer 6304 is placed over and around the module parts and under a 1.1 mm cover glass 6306 or other suitable perforated protective film such as, for example, Tefsol. A lamination process is used to deposit and cure. This lamination process encapsulates and seals the module components and bonds the active component layer therebetween to the glass substrate and superstrate.

Since the elongated strip battery 6104 is directly attached to the substrate 6102 , the stress of the various components of the module is caused by changing the temperature. The thermal expansion coefficients of crystalline silicon and glass are approximately 2.5 × 10 ⁻⁶ ° C. ⁻¹ and 9 × 10 ⁻⁶ ° C. ⁻¹ , respectively. Thus, if the substrate 6102 is formed from glass, the expansion and contraction ratios of the elongated strip cell 6104 and the substrate 6102 are comparable within a factor of at least 2 or 3, and are adapted by the adhesive 6302 Be made. However, polymers have a coefficient of thermal expansion that is on the order of ten times that of glass. As a result, standard adhesives are not adapted to the degree that results from different thermal expansions.

In any case, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the metal bus bar 6108 is substantially greater than that of crystalline silicon and glass, on the order of 17 × 10 ⁻⁶ ° C.− ¹ , and is adapted by standard adhesives. I can't. Commercial photovoltaic modules include thermal cycles in the temperature range of −40 ° C. to + 90 ° C., resulting in a total different displacement of 1.04 mm per meter length of the module for glass substrates or copper busbars, Subject to reliability testing. The straight metal bus bar expands and bends or shrinks and tears due to a larger coefficient of thermal expansion than the substrate 6102 and the elongated strip 6104 . Furthermore, even if such bending or tearing is avoided, the stress caused by thermal cycling leads to long-term failure due to severe operation of the bus bar 6108 and subsequent brittleness .

However, bus 6108 in the photovoltaic module is not a straight even plane, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 54 along the longitudinal axis, comprising a waveform region 6110 and a planar region 6114 alternately. The length of each region, as shown in FIGS. 53 and 54, is a length such that the planar region 6114 is aligned with the interconnect 6106 of the battery. This is because, as shown in FIG. 54, in these planar regions 6114, bus 6108, by solder bonding of the conductive adhesive or cell interconnect 6106, and electrically physically attached to the battery interconnect 6106 To be connected to. However, the corrugated region 6110 between the attached locations is not attached to the substrate 6102 , allowing the bus bar 6108 to expand or contract during thermal cycling, while the substrate 6102 and the battery interconnect 6106 are planar. It avoids undue stress that might pull the region 6114 apart. In this manner, the corrugated region 6110 defines an indirect path that relieves stress between the planar region 6114 attached to the substrate 6102 by conductive adhesive or solder of the battery interconnect 6106 . This indirect path adapts the different rates of thermal expansion of the busbars and the substrate and thereby allows solar cells to be in a wider temperature range, in particular in the temperature range from −40 ° C. to + 90 ° C. during reliability testing. The electrical connection between the two interconnections 6106 is maintained.

57 and 58 are photographic images of preferred busbar light stress profiles. The elongated piece 6104 has a width of 1 mm, and the bus bar 6108 has a width of 1.25 mm. A symmetrical waveform is effective in reducing the stress, but the stress reducing waveform 6110 has a pitch of 2 mm and a non-symmetrical cross section.

FIG. 54 shows a region 6112 of the module (6112, FIG. 53) where the bus bar 6108 is adhered to the substrate surface. An electrical connection is formed in the flat region 6114 of the bus 6108 to provide better adhesion of the bus 6108 to the substrate 6102 and to provide a more reliable electrical connection between the battery interconnect 6106 and the bus 6108. The

Depending on the adhesive material and the extent of different thermal expansion between the parts being bonded, a flat area is shown in cross section with the battery interconnect 6106 to provide a bus bar 6108 that is a corrugated 6110 along its entire length. It is possible to completely eliminate the flat area, avoiding the need to align with the assembled battery 6104 (cross section, FIG. 55) .

  Although specific arrangements of busbars and other module parts have been described above, it is clear that alternative arrangements include diversity to provide the desired degree of stress relief.

For example, if the electrical connection is made using a conductive ink or other conductive material that does not have sufficient strength to securely bond the bus bar 6108 to the substrate, the electrical connection to the substrate at or near the electrical connection point Bonding the bus bar 6108 is performed or supplemented using a poorly conductive or insulating material. In this case, the electrical connection is made near, next to, or overlying the physical attachment material that is a poorly conductive conductor or insulator.

Generally, the vertical height of module parts assembled on a substrate or superstrate is uniform throughout the module, resulting in a glass or polymer or resin base during and following the module lamination process In order to avoid the occurrence of internal stresses in the substrate and superstrate coating, the top surfaces of these components are in a single plane. For example, localized areas of the battery component that are thicker than the area surrounding the area are caused by, for example, a thicker line of wires or thicker battery or a thicker deposit of conductive material or adhesive. The thicker areas generate tensile stresses in the glass or polymer or resin-based cover sheet in this area, so that the overlap of the cover glass or superstrate 6306 (FIG. 55) is considered to be an outwardly convex surface . Deform. The tensile stress of glass is relatively low compared to polymers and resins, which causes the coverglass superstrate 6306 to crack.

The surface height and overall flatness constraints of the module parts also have a possible placement or profile of stress relief bus bars for two glass strip battery modules, such as the modules described herein. Restrict. An alternative embodiment of the busbar is formed in a single arc shape formed between attachment points to the substrate when viewed from the side and can provide stress relief, but such an arrangement Is not preferred. In general, they are provided such that the height of the upper surface of these regions on the substrate is no more than 60-80% of the distance between the substrate 6102 and the superstrate 6306 without the applied stress damage. However, it is preferable to avoid including one or more arcs of higher profile expanded areas and relatively large radii of curvature. The height of the module part is here measured as the distance from the substrate to the plane defined by the top surface of the highest module part, but not more than 50% of the distance between the two glass sheets 6102, 6306 Or less than half the thickness of the sealing material 6304 is most preferable. For a busbar with a height of 125 μm, the height of the stress relief profile is preferably 200 μm or less, leaving 75 μm between the top and bottom surfaces of the busbar and between the top and bottom of the profile. In fact, it is preferred that as many buses as possible with the stress relief profile be corrugated so that stress relief extends to the length of the bus as much as possible.

A typical bus bar includes a waveform with a pitch of 2 mm and a height of 50 μm to 75 μm. The portion of the bus bar that is 2 mm to 4 mm in length is left non-corrugated or at least substantially flat to allow good adhesion to a flat surface close to the substrate 6102 . In the case of conductive epoxies or solder or other materials that give good bond line strength, the bonding is done using a conductive material. If these auxiliary adhesive materials do not interfere with the electrically conductive path, the overall adhesive strength in the case of the conductive ink used for electrical connection, or the conductive epoxy used for electrical connection A dielectric adhesive material is used to provide any of the partial bond strengths in this case. Smaller numbers are achieved with wider profiles with lower profiles, but the reduction in bus length due to the waveform is typically on the order of 1% to 2%. Alternatively, a greater proportional decrease in length is caused by a more closely spaced waveform with a higher profile. The degree of stress relief provided by the waveform is directly related to the reduction in bus length caused by the waveform.

As shown in FIG. 56 , the bus bar 6108 is a pair of spaced apart pairs having complementary surface features 65008 , 65010 to provide a deformed piece of copper of the desired width and thickness. Are formed by feeding a selected diameter of copper wire 65002 between rollers 65004 . The copper wire 65002 is preferably pre-tinned. Wire 65002 is pushed between a pair of opposing surface features of roller 65004 , eg, a protrusion 65008 on one roller and a complementary recess 65010 on the other roller, causing wire 65002 to follow the infeed direction. Plastically deformed into pieces having a series of spaced waveforms 65006 spaced apart. The protrusions 65008 and depressions 65010 on the surface of the roller 65004 are spaced apart except for a featureless area 65014 on the roller surface that results in a strip having a periodic flat area that is not corrugated. Is spaced about the circumference of the roller 65004 to provide a shaped waveform. As described above, these facilitate secure attachment of the bus bar 6108 to the substrate 6102 .

  Preferably, the corrugated pieces are formed from wound wire so that there are no sharp edges or rough cuts that cut, slice, or cut wide or continuous sheets into narrow pieces.

The wire 65002 is continuously fed from the wire roll through the roller 65004 , or is preferably selected to give the desired busbar length and fed through the roller at a pre-cut length. In any case, the circumference of the roller 65004 is preferably larger than the length of the bus bar so that waste is generated by cutting or joining the small pieces. In order to easily assemble the strip cell assembly into a solar cell module, the strip cell is first assembled into sub-modules, and the desired number and arrangement of these sub-modules is then assembled into a complete solar cell module. A submodule is an arrangement of elongated batteries held in clamps or jigs and is moved to the substrate in one operation as a group or in several operations as a smaller part of the submodule assembly. The elongated strips at the end of each submodule may be interconnected by relatively short portions of continuously formed busbars to join two or more submodule portions while the result The resulting submodules or connected collections of submodules are then interconnected by longer sections of the same bus. In this way, a combination of series and parallel submodule connections, a series connection of parallel submodule connections, a parallel connection of series submodule connections, or a combination of series and parallel submodule connections is realized.

Alternatively, a flat sheet is first fed between the rollers 65004 rather than the wire 65002 . The sheet is pre-cut to the desired width for the bus bar 6108 , or the sheet and roller 65004 are much wider than the bus bar 6108 (eg, sized perpendicular to the page), and the sheet is corrugated once and the desired width (in this case 1 .25 mm) thin pieces. Cutting to give pieces of the desired width and / or length is performed by stamping, sheet cutting methods or laser cutting. Alternatively, the deformed piece can be removed from the undeformed sheet using opposing clamps and a pre-cut cutter base plate to match the stress relief profile that avoids distorting this profile during the cutting operation. Prepared by using a cutting machine.

The resulting bus bar piece is tinned to facilitate subsequent soldering if desired. In either case, each of the corrugated pieces is cut into pieces of the desired length, but is preferably wrapped around a continuous spiral roll or coil on a storage drum. This winding further deforms the corrugated pieces so that when the length of the bus material is unwound from the coil, the coil and the convex / concave shape determined by the corresponding circumference of the curve that induces the corrugation are determined. Let The convex surface of the bus 6108, when the length of the bus material is attached to either end of the mounting position 6116 and 6118 are shown in the substrate 6102, for example, in FIG. 53, the generatrix between the mounting position 6116, 6118 portion of the 6108 contacts, and as interconnect 6106 of the battery of the substrate 6102, and for example, position 6120, exerts a pressure on the material sandwiched between the bus 6108 and the substrate 6102.

In other physical mounting position caused by the elastic deformation of the electrical connection point 6120 bus 6108, and wound in a different manner, the contact pressure exerted by bus 6108, arranged, during the bonding, the original position, And the contact pressure between the bus 6108 and the battery interconnect 6106 or the substrate 6102 , the electrical interconnect that greatly simplifies the bus 6108 application, and the electrical interconnect between the battery interconnect 6106 and the bus 6108 . When conductive epoxy is used for electrical connection, the bus bar 6108 raises the temperature to 130 ° C. or higher during adhesive supply or printing applications, transport to solar cell module curing ovens, and over time. Holds firmly in place during the curing process. It is important that there be no relative movement between the bus bar 6108 , the substrate 6102 and the conductive material during the curing process. This is achieved by adhering the stress relief bus 6108 to the substrate 6102 near the electrical connection location 6120 using a UV curable adhesive. When unwound, the pressure in situ of the bus bar 6108 facilitates rapid UV curing without optical failure of the bonded area by positioning it in a mechanical clamp or mechanism.

Thus, any of the corrugated and essentially flat regions of the bus 6108 not only provides stress relief that ensures module reliability and durability, but also simplifies the module assembly procedure and reduces the configuration process described above. help.

  The stress relief bus described above is used during normal use in an elongated small battery module during module cycling, module reliability testing, and daily and yearly thermal cycling during thermal cycling and thermal reciprocation. Provide a reliable means to eliminate electrical failures due to different thermal expansions. The method is simple, reliable and can be adapted to a wide range of busbar materials, adhesive materials, electrical interconnect materials, substrates and superstrate, and any combination of these components.

(Removal and handling of small strips)
As shown in the plan view and cross-sectional side view of FIGS. 11 and 12, a set of elongated small piece batteries 1100 has a channel 1102 whose width is equal to or less than the thickness of the wafer 1104, penetrates the silicon wafer 1104, and is elongated. A channel 1102 is formed by first forming it. Channel 1102 is formed by selective chemical etching, but is alternatively formed by cutting with a laser or dicing saw. The area of the silicon wafer that remains between these channels 1102 forms a series of parallel elongated pieces or silicon strips. The entire wafer 1104 is processed so that each elongated strip becomes a pn junction solar cell, referred to as an “strip strip cell”, as described in the strip strip patent application. The elongated strips, as shown in FIG. 11, the array of elongated strips 1100 remain bound to the wafer 1104, represented as a wafer frame 1106, and are surrounded by a peripheral region 1106 of the wafer 1104, preferably a single piece. Formed as a rectangular array.

  A typical elongated strip cell type resembles an extremely long plank with a high length-to-width aspect ratio and a very high length-to-thickness aspect ratio. Each elongated strip has four exposed surfaces while held stationary in the wafer. Since the width of the channel 1102 is less than the thickness of the wafer 114, the two faces that are part of the (usually polished) surface of the wafer 1104 at the start are the smallest of these faces, and these are From now on, it will be expressed as the “edge” of the elongated piece.

  The largest surface of each strip is the two newly formed surfaces that are perpendicular to the original surface of the starting wafer and are hereinafter referred to as “surfaces”. When processed to form elongated cells, these are the “active” faces of the resulting solar cell, one edge being generally n-type and the other edge being generally p-type. give. Optionally, the edged part is n-type and the other part is p-type, in order to provide resistance or electrical interconnection to special or demanding applications that favor this arrangement. Once the strip is removed from the wafer 1104 and the other strips of the array 1100, the two newly exposed surfaces at opposite ends of the elongated strip are the “ends” of the strip. expressed. Thus, each elongated strip cell is said to have two opposing ends, two opposing edges of generally opposite polarity, and two opposing surfaces.

  Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 13-15, the elongated strip cells are either as an isolated rectangular array 1300 or as an isolated or unbroken parallel hexahedron or rhomboid shaped elongated strip battery array 1500, Formed on the wafer. These elongated strip arrangement arrangements increase wafer utilization, or increase the area of all elongated strip battery surfaces per wafer, but this separates the strips as described below. The price increases due to the complicated handling.

As shown in the cross-sectional side view of FIG. 16 and the partially cut-away plan view of FIG. 17, the clamp 1600 includes two opposing halves or portions 1602 having square inner surfaces 1604 facing each other, each of which has a wafer 1104 Between them, it is divided into three parallel alignment slits or channels. The clamp 1600 is operated by separating the two halves 1602 of the clamp 1600 so that the inner surface 1604 of the clamp 1600 grabs only the edges of the elongated strip 1100 and any part of the wafer frame 1106 , (1302, 1402 or 1502). The wafer 1104 is inserted between these two surfaces so that it is not gripped and the longitudinal axis of the elongated strip 1100 is in a position and orientation that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the alignment slot 1606.

The elongated strip 1100 uses a thumbscrew at the end of the bolt 1608 to tighten the four bolts 1608 through both openings 1602 of the half 1602 at each corner of the clamp 1600 until the desired force is applied. (1610) to secure between the opposing faces 1604 of the clamp 1600. The force may be applied by tensioning the bolt or may be provided by a spring (not shown) provided at the end of the bolt 1608. The two halves 1602 of the clamp 1600 are brought together so that the inner surface 1604 of the clamp half 1602 can hold the elongated small cell 1100 firmly by their edges.

As shown in FIG. 16 , the clamp 1600 extends to the edge of each elongated strip adjacent to the (not yet exposed) end and over the lateral frame portion 1612 interconnecting the elongated strip 1100. It does not extend. As shown in the plan view of FIG. 17, the clamp 1600 does not extend over the top portion 1702 or bottom portion 1704 of the wafer frame 1104 . It should be appreciated that the representation shown in FIG. 17 includes a cut out portion to show the relative position of the elongated strip 1100 and the alignment slot 1606. In practice, however, the sides of the clamp are solid and opaque, and the elongated strip 1100 is not visible.

  The wafer frame top portion 1702, bottom portion 1704, and lateral portion 1612 that are not obstructed by the clamp 1600 are separated from each other, but are held in the clamp 1600 securely in their orientation and relative position. The strip is removed by breaking it leaving a small piece of battery. Wafer frame portions 1702, 1704, 1612 are removed by breaking the wafer, tearing along the crystal plane, scribing and breaking, laser cutting, dicing saw cutting, or water jet cutting.

  The surface 1604 of the clamp 1600 that contacts the edge of the elongate small cell 1100 prevents the cell 1100 from being damaged, crushed or broken by localized stress, and holds the elongate small cell firmly. As such, it has a flexible surface. In addition, the flexible surface 1604 is preferably tacky to facilitate holding a small piece of battery 1100 in its original relative position and orientation.

  Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the wafer frame interface 1802, 1902 may be broken or otherwise cut to expose the bottom strip 1804 and / or the top strip 1904. Thus, prior to inserting the wafer 1104 between the clamp halves 1602, the top frame portion 1704 and / or the bottom frame portion 1704 are removed.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the elongated strip cassette or storage device 11000 includes a solid base 11002 and six guides arranged in two groups of three, although other arrangements and numbers of guide rails are appropriate. It includes a top assembly 11004 that is connected together by a rail or aligned finger protruding portion 110006 and is spring loaded. A side view of a typical storage device with a stacked stack of elongated strips found at the ends is shown in FIG. To use the elongate piece storage device 11000, the guide rails 11006 are removed from their respective fixing holes (not shown) in the base 11002, and the exposed ends of the guide rails 11006 are aligned with the slots in which they are aligned. It is fed through the upper end of the alignment slot 1606 of the clamp 1600 until it protrudes from the bottom end of 1606. The guide rail 11006 is returned to the fixing hole of the base 11002 so that the clamp 1600 is held by the elongated piece storage device 11000. The relative movement of the clamp 1600 and the storage device 11000 is limited in a direction parallel to the alignment slot 1606 and the guide rail 11006, as shown perpendicular to FIGS.

  The spring loaded upper assembly 11004 is connected by interposing the spring 11012 and is held in a spaced-apart arrangement by interposing the spring 11012 and the end plate 11008 and the end. A part plate 11010 is included. As shown in FIG. 20, the length of the guide rail 11006 is such that the stack of elongated strips is still on the wafer frame 1104 and the strips are removed when the strips are removed from the wafer and assembled into a continuous stack 1100. 11008 presses against the top strip 1904 with a preset or adjusted pressure. This ensures that the correct relative orientation of each elongated strip is always maintained during the separation process.

  The two halves 1602 of the clamp 1600 that secures the strips 1100 are progressively separated from the side of the array of strips 1100. Through the action of gravity or the downward force of the spring 11012 acting on gravity and the fixation plate 11008, the elongated pieces 1100 are brought together and adjacent to the elongated piece as the inner surface 1604 of the clamp gradually disengages the elongated piece 1100. The surfaces are placed against each other or pressed together between the base 11002 and the fixed plate 11008.

  The strips of cells 1100 are then held in a separate array of clamps 1600 that are removed from the wafer frame 1106 and then resemble or match the original pitch and orientation of the wafer 104 at the start. However, under the action of gravity or a spring mounted on the storage device upper assembly 11004, adjacent battery surfaces come into contact and are combined into a stack of elongated pieces. The clump maintains the orientation and polarity of the strips of cells by ensuring that the spacing between the strips of cells is not large enough for the cells to flip or jam.

  In another example, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, a set of elongated pieces 1100 are secured by a clamp 11200 having an inner surface 11202 that engages a lateral wafer frame portion 1612 but does not contact the elongated pieces 1100. . The clamp extends (but does not contact) the edge of the elongated strip cell 1100. If it is not removed, the clamp 11200 may also contact the upper frame portion 1702. The portion of the clamp 11200 that extends over the elongated strip battery 1100 includes an alignment slot 11204 for positioning the guide rail 1702 of the storage device 11000. If the upper frame portion 1702 and the bottom frame portion 1704 of the wafer frame 1106 are not removed, at least one of these frame portions 1702, 1704 may include a top elongated strip battery 1904 and / or a bottom elongated strip battery. Removed to give access to 1804 respectively.

  The elongate guide rails 11006 on which the storage device 11000 is located are inserted therein through the respective alignment slots 11204 of the clamps 11200 and are inserted into the respective retaining holes in the base 11002 of the storage device in the manner described above. Next, the clamp 11200 and the base 11002 are pushed together along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the guide rail 11006 that is positioned.

  When the leading surface of the base 11002 hits the bottom elongated small cell 1804, this interferes with the pushing action. However, by continuing to push the base toward the fixation plate 1108, the bottom elongated strip battery 1804 breaks at or near the edge, thereby removing the battery 1804 from the wafer frame portion 1612. The detached battery 1804 is placed on the base 11002 and then transmits the force applied to the surface, and the adjacent elongated piece allows the base 11002 to move toward the next elongated piece battery. Is removed in the same way as

  The device 11000 is such that the removed strip is not moved in a direction parallel to the plane of those surfaces by positioning the guide rails 11006 of the storage device 11000 and is not removed following one surface. The strips of strips and strips on the other side are kept in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the plane so that they do not deform, even in the vertical direction. Can work in any orientation. The required force, on the order of just a few Newtons, is of the order of magnitude greater than the force due to the weight of the elongated strip, on the order of a few millinewtons. This operation continues so that as the base 11002 of the storage device 11000 is fed into the clamp 1100, the elongated pieces 1100 are sequentially removed in the direction of movement.

The fixed plate 11008 of the spring loaded upper assembly 11004 prevents the last strip or the last few strips from popping out and secures when the end of the last strip is broken. Limit the available free space between the plate 11008 and the stacked stack of strips that are smaller than the width of the strips, so that the strips cannot be turned over or turned. . The side of the elongated cell storage device 11000 holds the removed elongated cell 1100 at its edge at the appropriate spacing 11102 (FIG. 21) . The spacing should be large enough so that the width of the widest elongated strip does not exceed the width of the battery storage device which is less than the maximum machine tolerance. Suitable spacing values are typically between 20 and 50 microns.

  The fixed plate 11008 offset by the spring 11012 includes the elongated strip cell removed between the base 11002 and the fixed plate 11008 so that the last strip of small cell is not tripped. As a result, the elongated strip cells 1100 are sequentially moved from the lateral wafer frame to form a stack of elongated strip cells such that adjacent battery surfaces are in contact under gravity or biased movement of the spring 11012. It will be removed. As the pressure disengages from the surface of a continuous elongated cell, the spacing between the elongated cells does not become large enough for the elongated cell to flip over, thereby aligning the orientation and polarity of the elongated cell. keep. The pressure of the spring 11012 prevents the elongated pieces from sliding relative to each other.

  An end plate (not shown) is inserted into the storage device 11000 through the base 11002 and / or a slot (not shown) in the end plate 11010 to hold the strip removed at the end. This securing operation is performed immediately after placing the storage device 11000, immediately before supplying the elongated strips, or after aligning the ends of the elongated strips so that they are coplanar.

  The length of the spring 11012 removes the strip from the wafer as its function holds the last or end strip 1904 and ensures that the strip does not have enough space to change its orientation. Not definitive to do. In order to facilitate the application of a known and constant pressure to the stack of elongated strips over a relatively long distance, this pressure is limited by the spring 11012 and fixed, with the restriction that the device is kept in a vertical or near-vertical orientation. Instead, it is provided by replacing the plate 11008 by weight.

  The ratio of the elongated strip thickness to the gap between adjacent elongated strips is typically approximately 60:40 to 70:30, so that the gap between the elongated strips is clearly thinner than the thickness of the elongated strips. However, during the loading operation, the spring 11012 moves the stationary plate 11008 over a distance of about 2 cm, which is the cumulative distance of all gaps between the strips in the array 1100. For comparison, a movement of about 8 to 8.5 cm, which is the overall thickness of the stacked stack of strips, is required to prevent the strips from turning over while down. Due to the simplicity of the holding mechanism described above, different methods can be used to apply a substantially constant force over the distance of travel when loading (spring stretching) and unloading (free sliding weight). It is realistic to use

  Because the stack of strips is clean and dry, there is no problem of static friction in the separation, handling, and feeding processes described above. The possibility of static friction is that despite the fact that the face of the elongated strip is often woven with irregular features on the order of a few microns and is represented schematically in this specification, the elongated strip itself is This is further reduced by the fact that the cross section is not exactly rectangular. Depending on the particular process used to form the elongated strip, they are actually about 10 to 15 microns thicker in the middle than near the edge, the cross section is hexagonal, or one edge is the other It is a long rhomboid that is 10 to 20 microns wider than its opposite edge.

  The area, length and shape of the base 11002 along the length of the elongated strip 1100 controls the bending of each elongated cell at or near the junction with the lateral wafer frame portion 1612 and thereby the wafer frame portion. 1612 is selected to improve cracking and separation of the elongated battery 1100.

In the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, if not removed, a set of elongated strips 1100 are placed on the flat surfaces of the lateral wafer frame portion 1612 and the upper wafer frame portion 1702. It is fixed to a U-shaped clamp 11400 with an open face that only contacts. The bottom wafer frame portion 1704, if present, is removed to expose the bottom strip 1904 using one or more of the procedures described above.

As shown in FIGS. 26-29, the length of the adhesive tape 11602 or other adhesive material is elongated strip cells 1100 in the plane of the wafer surface extending along the array to cover all of the elongated cells to be removed. Attached to the edge. The selected portion, as shown (1800, FIG. 26) , includes the entire elongated strip battery array, or only a portion of the entire array. Preferably, the second length of tape is applied to the opposing edges of the elongated strip cell array coplanar with the opposing wafer surface. Alternatively, an adhesive paste or double-sided adhesive film is applied to the edges of the elongated strip cells and other materials or support layers bonded to the adhesive paste or adhesive film to hold the elongated strip cells with adhesive tape by the edges. The

The elongated strip cell attached to the adhesive tape 11602 is separated from the lateral wafer frame portion 1612 by replacing the elongated cell associated with the lateral wafer frame portion 1612 as shown by arrow 11702 in FIG. . This is done by moving the elongated small cell array 11800 and the clamp 11400 away from each other. In another embodiment, the clamp keeps the removed elongated piece cell flat with the wafer 1104 while the elongated piece 1100 is removed from the lateral wafer frame portion 1612, so that the end of the elongated piece cell is Extends upward.

Selected portions of the elongated strip cell array attached to the adhesive tape 11602 are from a wafer frame portion 1612 having the same orientation and polarity, an assembly 11800 of elongated strip cells 1100 removed from 1170 , and a lateral wafer frame 1612. Prior to removal, a pitch substantially similar to that of an elongated strip cell is provided. The stripped strip battery assembly 11800 restrained by the adhesive tape 11602 (FIG. 28) is provided directly for the next process and transferred to a cassette or storage unit described herein as storage unit 11000. May be.

  The width of the adhesive tape 11602 or other adhesive material (eg, in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the elongated strip cell 1100) is at or near the end of the elongated strip cell where they join the lateral wafer frame portion 1612, Affects the damage of elongated batteries. The tape width determines the bend angle of the elongated strip cell, which controls the localized stress at the end of the strip via the damaging force imposed by replacing the elongated strip cell associated with the wafer frame. To do. When the central portion of the elongated strip battery is replaced in proportion to the end of the elongated strip battery attached to the lateral wafer frame portion 1612, the narrower the adhesive tape 11602, the more elongated strip cell 1100 bends. . As shown in the figure, for a 60 mm long strip battery, the 16 mm wide adhesive tape provides as good a bond as a bend due to localized failure at the end of each strip cell. give. For elongated strip cells of different lengths and thicknesses, the optimum width is found by trial and experiment.

  Alternatively, the elongated strip cell array 1100 contained within the wafer frame portion 1612 is clamped with an elongated strip edge contact surface covered with a layer or sheet of adhesive tape or flexible material to mimic the operation of the adhesive tape 11602. May be clamped using Such a clamp is believed to operate in a manner similar to a pair of rubberized tongs. As in the case of tape 11602, the width of the flexible material in the direction of the length of the clamp and the elongated strip cell is such that the elongated strip cell at or near the end of the elongated strip cell near the lateral wafer frame portion 1612. Selected to improve localized damage.

  Alternatively, the elongated cell array 1100 contained within the wafer frame may be processed manually without requiring external clamping to remove unwanted portions of the wafer frame 1702, 1704. Further, the separation of the elongated strip cell from the lateral wafer frame portion 1612 is done manually and without requiring a clamp to hold the lateral wafer frame portion 1612.

  The elongate piece assembly 11800 has a spring loaded top as shown in FIG. 29 while holding the fixation plate 11008 away from the elongate piece 1100 or to allow free access to the top of the storage device 11000. By removing the assembly 11004, it is fed between the alignment guides 11006 pair. The elongated strip cell 1100 is assembled by pulling the end of the adhesive tape 11602 at a downward angle to the base of the elongated strip assembly 11800, as represented by the arrow 12002 in the side view of FIG. , The downward component of the pulling force brings together the surfaces of the adjacent strip cells, and the outer or lateral component of the pulling force is selected to remove the adhesive tape 11602 from the edge of the strip cell 1100 in the assembly 11800. , And as shown in FIG. 31, starting from the bottom strip of small cells 1804 and proceeding upward as successive strips of strip cells are removed to form a stack of bundled strips of cells.

  During this operation, the fixation plate 11008 will prevent the last strip from flipping its orientation, whatever the non-uniformity or asymmetry in the action of removing the tape 11602, Under the action of the spring mechanism 11012, the upper part of the unstacked portion of the stack of elongated strips is continuously pushed downward. The alignment guide 11006 holds the strips that have been removed into the storage device 11000 at the appropriate spacing 12102 as described above.

Alternatively, the detached elongated cell assembly 11800, which is constrained by the adhesive tape 11602, is fed directly into the elongated cell battery singulation unit 12200, as shown in FIG. In the elongated piece battery separation unit 12200, the adhesive tape 11602 that binds the stack of separated elongated pieces 12202 is fed to the roller 12201 having a small diameter by winding the non-adhesive back surface of the tape 11602 around the roller 12201. As the tape 11602 passes over and around selected portions of the arcuate shape on the roller or drum 12201, the distance between the furthest edges from the tape 11602 increases and the outer edge of the elongated strip battery 12202 becomes fanned. Spreads, and as a result, allows access to the individual elongated strip cells 12204 . Individual elongate batteries 12204 are bonded to adhesive tape 11602 by mechanical fingers or hooks on moving belt 12203, by vacuum suction on belt 12203, by electrostatic attraction, or by a combination of these methods. Can be picked up.

Alternatively, the elongated small cell battery assembly 11800 is applied directly to the next assembly stage 12300 as shown in FIG. There, the elongated strip cells 12202 are separated from the adhesive tape 11602 and assembled into a flat array 12307 on a frame or jig 12306 or directly assembled into a solar cell module substrate. In the case of a frame or jig 12306, the edge of the fan-shaped elongated strip cell to be removed from the tape 11602 is brought into contact with the step 12303 of the frame or jig 12306. The step 12303 is high enough to reliably engage the elongated strip battery 12304 removed from the tape 11602, but one elongated strip cell is avoided so that contact with the adjacent strip cell 12308 is avoided. Smaller than the pitch of the elongated strip, which is the distance from the surface of the adjacent strip to the adjacent surface of the adjacent elongated strip. The elongated strip battery is detached from the adhesive tape 11602 by the relative movement of the jig 12306 and the tape 11602. Each elongated strip battery 12307 is captured and secured by vacuum, electrostatic attraction, or other mechanical means. These operations are repeated until the required number of elongated strip cells 12307 are assembled into a temporary arrangement of solar cell sub-modules or elongated strip cells.

  The elongated strip removal apparatus and process described herein allows the elongated strip to be separated from the wafer frame while retaining the orientation of the separated strip cell and thus the relative polarity. In one embodiment, the relative separation or the pitch of the separated elongated strips is initially maintained, and the stripped strips are adjacent to the surface of adjacent strips so that they are stacked in an unbroken array. They are put together to remove the gaps between them and given to a further processing stage, for example a test or assembly stage. In other embodiments, each elongated piece is grouped with a previously removed elongated piece as the elongated piece is removed from the wafer frame.

  Large or substantially simultaneous removal of elongated strips from the wafer avoids the need to place, engage, separate, and handle individual elongated strip cells. In addition, the elongated pieces are engaged by edges that are stiffer than the face of the elongated piece. The elongated strip removal process described in this specification does not rely on the exact location as required for the separation of individual elongated strip cells, and in particular, between the elongated strip cells in the wafer array, It doesn't depend on detailed knowledge of small gaps with varying thickness.

  The elongated strip removal process and apparatus described in this specification is constrained by a clamp, cassette, or adhesive tape to provide a clean array of retained elongated strips without separating debris that contaminates the array. One problem with separation and assembly that occurs "in-line" or sequentially is that separation debris, which is very numerous, contaminates the elongated piece retention mechanism. If the holding mechanism is a vacuum, the vacuum hole becomes blocked, or the vacuum hole is partially jammed with a strip of elongated strip standing on the edge, which is then pressed onto it Destroy an elongated piece. Sticky surfaces have the same problem. With the separation and subsequent handling and / or assembly stage, the separated debris is removed at the separation stage so that it does not contaminate the next assembly process. Occurs when breaking or otherwise cutting the end of an elongated strip from a wafer frame, despite the specific performance of separation and strip retention, such as a clamp, tape, or elongated strip cassette described above. Separation debris is easily removed from the elongated piece stack.

  The resulting elongated strip arrangement facilitates the storage or delivery of individual strips to the next process or assembly stage without requiring precise or inaccurate meshing and complex control systems. . Each step of the strip removal process is easily performed manually, in a short time, and at a minimum cost, such that the orientation of the strip is actively maintained at each step. Furthermore, the simplicity of the process in this specification allows for a clear automation of the strip removal and handling process steps that are straightforward and inexpensive.

  Returning to FIGS. 13-15, if each wafer is divided in part between the last strip of each array and the first strip of the next array in the same wafer, the strips of FIGS. Obviously, the rectangular arrangement of the array is not directly inconsistent with the separation and handling process described above. For example, the wafer shown in FIG. 14 containing five arrays of elongated strips is divided into five parts in a process similar to that depicted in FIGS. The top wafer frame portion of the top portion and the bottom wafer frame portion of the bottom portion are removed to provide five rectangular strip pieces, each bank separated by a lateral wafer frame portion remaining at the end of the strip. Be bound.

  A similar process requires an alignment step where tilted stacks of elongated strips straighten or produce a rectangular, continuous array of separated elongated strips in preparation for feeding or placement operations. With the added request, the same result as in FIG. 15 is obtained. The main advantage of elongated strip cells is a dramatic increase in the active surface area of the cell resulting from a given mass of silicon. As depicted in FIGS. 13-15, this increased surface area of the cell from the wafer further increases the benefits of the strip technology.

  Although the strip removal process and apparatus are described herein as strip strip solar cells, it should be apparent that they are equally applicable to strips used in other applications.

(Formation of submodule)
Referring to FIG. 1, an elongated strip cell 101 and a horizontal beam 102 are assembled to form an “elongated strip raft” submodule 100. The spacing between solar cells ranges from zero to several times the width of each cell. The horizontal beam 102 is formed from any material and is preferably thin, not electrically conductive (or covered with an insulating material) and easily covered with conductive tracks. For example, a thin piece of silicon having a thickness of 30 to 100 microns, a width of 1 to 3 mm, and a length of 2 to 20 cm constitutes a suitable material for horizontal beams. The battery 101 is mechanically attached to the horizontal beam 102 using an adhesive or metal solder, or conductive epoxy, or similar material.

As seen in FIG. 34, a set of elongated strip cells 12620 are formed on a wafer according to the process described in the elongated strip patent application. The wafer has a frame portion 12600 at each end of a set of elongated strip solar cells 12620. The wafer frame portion may or may not extend around the circumference of the wafer to a region adjacent to the flat surface of the outermost elongated cell at each end. The wafer is cut or folded at removal portion 12610 to expose one side of elongated strip solar cell array 12620. As shown in FIG. 35, the wafer is secured to the clamp 12720 in contact with the edge of the wafer 12710 outside the elongated cell array area 12730 in the plane of the wafer surface. Conveniently, the surface of the clamp that contacts the edge of the wafer has a flexible surface. As shown in FIGS. 36 , 37, 38 and 40 , one or more wafers are clamped 12810 , 12910, 13210 to provide an array of gratings or surfaces 12820 , 12920 , 13020 , 13220 . The number of wafers clamped in the array is equal to the number of elongated strip solar cells required to form a raft or boat submodule .
As shown in FIGS. 37-39 , the exposed elongated strip cells from each wafer 12820 , 12920 , 13140 are removed as an array 12930 by mechanical means such as, for example, a vacuum mating tool 12940. A vacuum mating tool is used to move the strips of small cells to the next stage of submodule assembly, for example to place an array on a horizontal beam to form a raft. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 40, the exposed elongated strip cell 13220 from each wafer directly and permanently bonds the elongated strip cell to the horizontal or raft beam 13250 of the sub-module array, and a fast cure adhesive 13260. Is removed as an array arrangement 13230. Raft horizontal beams are prepared with adhesive, using feeding, stencil printing, screen printing, stamping or other well known methods to move the desired amount of adhesive to the required location. The submodule array is moved between adjacent elongated strip battery electrodes to the next stage of assembly, which is the attachment of electrical connections.

  The exposed elongated strip cells from each wafer are also removed as an array by a reusable adhesive surface that temporarily adheres the elongated strip cells to a transport or transfer mechanism. The temporary adhesive performs the function of a vacuum. The elongated strip cells are separated from the wafer and then removed from the moving tool after being assembled into a submodule assembly or raft. In another embodiment, the exposed strips of solar cells from each wafer are removed as an array using electrostatic attraction that temporarily bonds the strips of solar cells to a transport or transfer mechanism. The elongated strip solar cells are separated from the wafer and then removed from the moving tool after being assembled into a raft or boat by removing.

  Elongated small piece solar cells always engage positively to ensure correct orientation and polarity. The elongated strip cells are also assembled directly into the raft or boat following separation from the wafer, thus avoiding intermediate handling or storage steps. Importantly, the elongated strip solar cells are treated as a group, which greatly reduces the number of handling operations per square meter of photovoltaic modules.

41-43 illustrate a method for handling elongated strip solar cells that have already been removed from the wafer frame and included in a mass storage configuration such as a storage cassette. Elongated small piece solar cells 13370 contained in a cassette or mass storage unit 13320 are provided with side restraints 11006 and end restraints 13350 . One or more cassettes or buffer storage units are assembled to provide a grid or array of elongated strip solar cell surfaces that reside in a planar arrangement constituted by accessible elongated strip solar cells within each unit. This flat arrangement embodies the desired relative position and orientation of the subsequently formed raft or boat strip within the boat array. Many cassettes or buffer storage units have the correct position and orientation relative to adjacent strips of solar cells so that the strips of accessible strips within each unit form a raft or boat submodule or assembly. Arranged in a grid or array.

Alternatively, in FIG. 38, a stack of elongated strip solar cells 13020 are assembled directly into a multilayer stack unit 13710 , which is a single cassette that effectively incorporates a multilayer stack of separated strips of strip cells, each adjacent Each stack located on and constrained by the ends of the elongated strip solar cells is bound to a groove in the cassette wall. The stacking pitch, or separation between each stack, is selected to meet the desired position of the final raft or boat submodule. For arrays assembled from multi-layer cassettes, the number of cassettes or mass storage units clamped to the array is equal to the number of elongated strip solar cells required to form a raft or boat. Alternatively, the sub-module arrangement is configured using a small number of storage units and one or more repeated assembly operations.

As shown in FIG. 41, the height of the stacked strip solar cells is maintained by a spring 13330 or mechanical feed control so that the top strip strip solar cells are always in the same position. As shown in FIG. 39, the elongated small piece solar cells are held in the stack 13130 by a mechanical stopper 13120 located near the end of the elongated small piece solar cell and by 13360 in FIG. An elongated solar cell is removed when its effective length is sufficiently reduced by bending or deflecting while it is pulled out of the cassette. The degree of bending and the position of the bending are controlled by the width and position of the vacuum transfer tool and the position of the mechanical stopper or roller at the end of the elongated strip solar cell. Alternatively, the cassette is directed downward so that the stack of elongated strip solar cells and the subsequent stack weight ensure that the outermost elongated strip solar cells are provided to the pick-up device.

As shown in FIG. 39, an exposed or initially applied elongated strip solar cell 13140 from each cassette, group of cassettes, or multi-layer stack cassette 13110 is obtained by mechanical means such as, for example, a vacuum mating tool 13150. , Removed as an array arrangement. A vacuum mating tool 13150 is used to move the array to the next stage of submodule assembly. Alternatively, the exposed elongated strip solar cells 13140 from each cassette, group of cassettes, or multi-layer stack cassette 13110 can be fast-curing bonds that directly and permanently bond the array to a horizontal or raft beam in a sub-module array. Removed as an array arrangement by the agent. The submodule array is moved to the next stage of assembly, which is the attachment of electrical connections between adjacent elongated solar cell electrodes. In another embodiment, the exposed elongated strip solar cells from each cassette, group of cassettes, or multi-layer stack cassettes are reusable by a reusable adhesive surface that temporarily bonds the elongated solar cells to a transport or transfer mechanism. , Removed as an array arrangement. The elongated strip solar cells are removed from the moving tool after being separated from each cassette, group of cassettes, or multilayer stack cassette and then assembled into a raft or boat. In yet another embodiment, the exposed elongated strip solar cells from each cassette, group of cassettes, or multilayer stack cassettes use electrostatic attraction that temporarily bonds the elongated strip solar cells to the transport or transfer mechanism. And removed as an array arrangement. The elongated strip solar cells are removed from the moving tool after separating the cassette, group of cassettes, or multilayer stack cassette by removing the moving head.

  Elongated small piece solar cells removed from a cassette, group of cassettes, or multilayer stack cassette always engage positively to ensure correct orientation and polarity. The elongated strip solar cells are assembled directly into a raft or boat, avoiding any intermediate handling or storage steps, following separation from the cassette, group of cassettes, or multilayer stack cassette.

42 and 43 illustrate a method for handling elongated small piece solar cells that are included in the shape of a mass storage device, such as a cassette feeder 13410 , for example. The cassette feeder aligns the elongated strip solar cells 13420, 13550 with an array pitch and is aligned with a properly oriented strip of strip solar cells or with the desired pitch of the raft or boat assembly. Used to supply mechanically relative to the solar cell. The cassette feeder 13410 places a single elongated piece of solar cell into a machined groove 13430 or slot in a metal jig 13500. The position of the grooves or slots has a lateral pitch that matches the position of the relative elongated strip solar cells in the raft or boat assembly.

The elongated strip solar cell is mechanically removed from the base of the cassette by the approaching wall of the groove 12450. The groove depth 13430 is designed to be slightly smaller than the elongated strip solar cell thickness 13420 so that only one elongated strip solar cell is engaged by the groove in the metal jig at a time. The width of the groove is designed to be slightly wider than the width of the elongated strip solar cell so that the elongated strip enters the groove without being crowded or crushed. The back gate 13460 of the elongated strip solar cell supply cassette 13410 is designed to be slightly higher than the upper surface or surface of the elongated solar cell in the groove. This is because an elongated strip solar cell that is next to the elongated strip solar cell that is fed next to the elongated strip solar cell that is fed or is provided with the next empty groove is in the elongated strip solar cell supply cassette. Retained.

  The upper portion 13470 of the supply cassette 13410 is enclosed to include a follower plate 13480 that provides pressure to the stack 13490 in the supply cassette. The level of pressure in the stack is selected so that the leading edge of the bottom elongated strip solar cell engages the far side of the jig groove wall. After this stage, the pressure is selected so that the elongated strip solar cells are on the flat surface at the bottom of the groove. Once the elongated strip solar cell is on the flat surface at the bottom of the groove and is held there by the pressure moved from the adjacent elongated strip solar cell, the back gate of the supply cassette is held by the elongated strip solar cell Clean the back edge and top surface of the battery. This sequence is repeated for all grooves in the arraying jig until the supply cassette continues to transport the metal jig and all grooves are filled. Trailing double-ended skis 13415, 13560 are the back gates of the adjacent elongated strip solar cells held in the supply cassette and the trailing edge is the leading edge of the elongated strip solar cells in the groove Sliding on the top, keep the solar cells elongated in the grooves so that they don't flip over or pop out.

  The feed cassettes are held parallel to the jig grooves by guides 13425, 13510, 13540 that are properly aligned sideways and run through machined slots 13520, 13560 in the jig. There may be one or more slots, and the slots may be located in the wafer array, as the guide will run through the empty area of the jig before the elongated strip solar cell is supplied. Alternatively, the guide may be located behind the feed jig 13540 if the guide is outside the array area. A combination of guides before and after the supply cassette may be used. The elongated small piece solar cell is held in the supply cassette by a holding hook 13435 that moves through the guide groove. The retaining hook allows the supply cassette to retain the elongated strip during movement between jigs, between arrays, and between storage and loading operations. The stack is placed on the supply cassette using a mass transfer method.

  The cells are removed from the supply cassette without requiring a single elongated strip solar cell to be individually positioned and engaged. Conveniently, the supplied elongated strip solar cells may be more securely held in the grooves in the alignment jig by applying a vacuum to the bottom surface of the elongated strip solar cells through the holes in the base of the grooves. The vacuum is only used to hold the elongated strip solar cell in the groove after the elongated strip solar cell is supplied. In one example of supply cassette operation, vacuum is not used to remove the strip of small pieces of solar cells from the supply cassette. Alternatively, the vacuum arrangement may be used to remove the elongated strip solar cells from the cassette or to assist in removing the elongated strip solar cells from the cassette. Alternatively, the supplied strip-shaped solar cell array can be, for example, a double-ended ski that slides over the top surface of the strip-shaped solar cell, confining it in a groove and preventing it from popping out of the slot in the metal jig, It may be secured by a subsequent ski or rail. Rather than suddenly losing pressure or contact, such as when it has either the back edge of an adjacent strip, or the back gate of a supply cassette, or a rail with a flat, square end, it is supplied with a ski. A ski-like shape is preferred so that pressure and contact are gradually removed as it passes through the small piece solar cell.

  The movement continues until the required number of elongated strip solar cells are supplied for the raft or boat. The horizontal beam 13580 required to complete the raft arrangement is pre-prepared with an adhesive 13590 in a region where the beam surface coincides with the surface of the elongated strip solar cell. The horizontal beam required to complete the raft assembly may be provided on and glued to the top surface of the array. Alternatively, the horizontal beam is prepared with an adhesive and placed in a special groove that crosses the elongated strip solar cell location groove. The groove is formed in a metal jig so as to clean the lower surface of the elongated small piece solar cell supplied with the upper surface of the beam lying in the groove. The gap is selected in view of the adhesive line thickness of the adhesive so that a raft or boat array is formed on the upper surface of the beam lying in the groove. Furthermore, the supply of elongated small piece solar cells to the metal jig is continuous or quasi-continuous. That is, in continuous assembly, the raft or boat may be formed in a continuous or unbroken manner in a long metal jig. In quasi-continuous assembly, the raft or boat may be formed in a jig that is separated or half-separated, with each grooved portion being as long as the raft or boat assembly. This jig portion is attached to a chain or belt conveyor to provide a linear assembly of the raft or boat.

Photo Image sequences are assembled using a feed jig is shown in Figure 44. The elongated small piece solar cell has a width of 1.00 mm and a thickness of 70 microns. The jig groove has a width of 1.05 mm and a depth of 50 microns. The elongated strip solar cell is released gradually, immediately following the supply by the plane part following the glass slightly tilted towards the plane of the jig, and the final edge of the guard pops out of the elongated strip solar cell. It is held in the groove to prevent it from turning over.

45 to 52 relate to another embodiment represented as “mesh raft”. As shown best in FIGS. 8, 9 , 51 and 52 and hereinafter referred to as “mesh rafts” 2600 and 15100 , the elongated strips 12401 of the mesh raft assembly are shown in FIG. In the same way as with the exception of the requirement of a metallized track, it is held in a plane by only the electrical connector 15102 that constitutes the electrical connection . This embodiment is ideal for raft arrangements, but is suitable for boats under certain circumstances.

Electrical interconnection 15102 between the elongate piece 12401 is thin wire 14202, but it is thicker than the elongate strip is formed from. The individual interconnect wires 14602 are formed from a number of single length wires 14202, each longer than the length of the mesh raft array, to stretch the mesh raft arrays 2600 , 15100 together during module manufacture. The mesh raft array 2603, 14603, 15103 , 15003 used at the end is given a special length. The number of these long length wires 14202 is equal to the number of interconnect rows that matches the number of horizontal beams in the embodiment described above. Alternatively, since the use of thin wires rather than horizontal beams or substrates virtually eliminates the shading penalty incurred by the above-described embodiments, the number of rows of electrical interconnects can be reduced by the number of connections between individual strips. It is substantially increased by staggering or offsetting the lines, or simply increasing the number of interconnect rows within the mesh raft.

  In the case of the staggered or offset electrical interconnect 15102 in the offset row shown in FIG. 52, the length of the wire that runs along the electrode on the edge of the strip, or the staggered or offset The extra length that occurs over the full number of elongated strip pitches, larger than that with a pair of rows, is removed during the cutting operation.

Referring to FIG. 51, the length of the short wire forming the electrical interconnect is useful for gripping with convenient means such as soldering or bonding with conductive epoxy, and mechanical tweezers 14301. An arm that runs along the elongated strip electrode 14803 long enough to allow the formation of a reliable electrical connection 14904 between adjacent strip electrodes by an intermediate portion 14902 between the two contact arms 14802. The “S” shape, or “U” shape, or other convenient shape that provides 14802.

Wire interconnects for the entire mesh raft are formed in a highly parallel process that avoids the need to pinch and place individual short wires used to interconnect the elongated strip cells. The wires corresponding to each track or row of interconnects 14202 connect the interconnects 15003 or 15103 with vertical spacing along the length of the elongated strip 14402 corresponding to the spacing of the mesh raft electrical interconnect rows. It is stretched across a frame 14200 having a length greater than the length from the remote end of the tensioning raft. A set of mechanical tweezers 14301 having an array of finger projections grabs an intact, drawn wire 14202. Preferably, each row or set of tweezers 14301 is aligned and slightly flexible so that the grabbing action is performed by only two axes of control, rather than individual tweezer lines requiring individual control. And formed from two base plates having resilient finger-like projections formed from or securely attached to the plate. Fingers grasping of the individual sets of tweezers 14301 has a spacing laterally along the length of the wire, it is at 52 from FIG. 48, in the direction of the length of the elongate pieces 12401 and mesh raft 14900, 1 having a center corresponding to the center of the short wire portion 14602 required to interconnect the strips 12401 within 5100. A set of rows of banks or tweezers 14301 has a vertical spacing along the length of the strip 12401 that runs at right angles across a series of wires 14202. Wire 14202 runs in a direction across the elongated strips corresponding to the centerline of the row of electrical interconnects 14902 in mesh raft arrangement 2600 , 15100. This arrangement of tweezers 14301 allows the tweezers to grip individual wires after the stretched wires 14202, 14602 have been cut to the required length, which are connected to individual connections 14904, 14902 between adjacent elongated strip electrodes 14803. Used to do.

Wire 14202 stretched, as shown in 47 to 49 are simultaneously cut to the sequence of the individual wires 14602 was correctly placed in a simple process. A grooved anvil 14402 (FIG. 47) corresponds to a central line of elongated strips 12401 in mesh raft arrays 2600 , 14900 , 15100 between which electrical connections 14904 , 15102 are made. It is placed under the wire with a land 14402 in between. A set of blades 14502, adjacent to the central line of elongated strips 12401 in individual mesh raft arrangements 2600 , 15100 between individual interconnects, turns stretched wires 14202 into an array of short wires 14602 held by tweezers 14604. In order to do this, the wire 14202 on the flat portion 14402 of the anvil 14401 is pressed down from above. Blade 14502 and anvil 4401 are removed from the periphery of the array, leaving an array of short wires 14602 held by elongated slotted tweezers 14604.

The array of short wires 14602 is bent into a “U” or “S” shaped flat connection array in a one or two step process. As shown in FIG. 50, a series of narrow elongated grooves 14701 results in an array 14602 . Obviously, only two pairs are shown in FIG. A slot 14702 in the plate 14701 corresponding to the wire is located protruding from the tweezer array. As a result, when the slot wall contacts the end of the wire, replacing the plate 14701 in a direction across the length of the wire will bend the end of the wire in the direction in which the plate is replaced. The pair of plates 14701 between each set of tweezers 14604 is used in one application. Alternatively, a single plate 14701 between a pair of tweezers 14604 is used in a two-step process. The plate 14701 is inserted, replaced and removed and reinserted to bend the wire on the other side of the tweezers 14604. The plate 14701 can be either in the same direction 14704 to form a “U” shape, or in an opposing direction 14703 to form an “S” shaped connector 14902 with an “S” plane in the plane of an elongated piece raft. Crab is replaced again. If the plate is thinner than the length of the wire protruding from the tweezer pin, an “S” shaped flat connector is formed in two steps using the process described above.

  If the plate 14701 has a thickness up to the gap between the tweezers 14604 scissors that is less than twice the thickness of the wire and is thicker than the length of the wire protruding from the tweezers 14604, the “U” shaped A flat connector is formed by a single replacement of the notched plate 14701. The width of the individual scissors in tweezers 14604 is desirable and is selected to facilitate the formation of short wire interconnects.

  A flat array of short wire interconnects 14602 having a lateral spacing corresponding to the pitch of the mesh raft and a vertical spacing corresponding to the position of the row of interconnects within the mesh raft is any of the methods described above. Into a prepared elongated strip battery array assembled by The assembled strip of small cell array is next to the interconnect 14802, with the tip of the tweezers 14301 protruding to the back and bringing the array of bent flat wire connectors into the plane of the strip of striped electrodes 14803. It is held in a frame or jig with a dent along the line. The electrical or mechanical connection 14904 is formed by soldering the wire to the electrode or by gluing with a conductive epoxy or similar material. If soldering takes place at this stage, infrared heating or hot air processes are used because the wires need to be mechanically constrained until the electrical connection is complete.

  Advantageously, the mechanical and electrical connection processes are separated. Mechanical integrity is achieved by gluing wire 14902 to electrode 14803 with a short portion of wire arm length and SMT adhesive on the electrode, or other conductive or non-conductive material. Electrical connection 14904 and improved mechanical integrity are provided using a more convenient, reliable process at a later, more convenient time and during the next assembly process. Preferably, the electrical connection is made using a wave soldering process.

The mesh rafts 2600 and 15100 described above are particularly suitable for flexible module structures. The elongated strip is very flexible along its length and is bent into a curve perpendicular to the optically active surface having a radius of curvature of about 2 cm. However, the elongated strip is not flexible at all in a plane that is optically parallel to the active surface and breaks up before the bend is visible. Very thin wires are also very flexible, and very important for flexible module applications is that they bend equally in all directions. A grid of elongated strips, such as a raft with elongated strip horizontal beams, is a curve that lies in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the elongated strips, and also a curve that is in the same plane relative to the orientation of the horizontal beams of thin strips. Is very flexible in the longitudinal direction along the length of the array of strips of small cells. However, when bent in a plane that is inclined towards the longitudinal axis of the elongated piece and the horizontal beam, the elongated piece does not bend, rather than perpendicular to the plane of the elongated piece and the raft in the direction in which the elongated piece bends easily. The arrangement of elongated strip cells and elongated horizontal beams is clearly not flexible when glued into the grid because stress is provided in the plane of the elongated strip in the direction. The introduction of thin, short wires reduces stress in the plane of the mesh raft array.

  In the foregoing description, the movements that engage or supply should be understood as relative. That is, the vacuum mating tool or supply cassette is stationary and the wafer array or grooved jig is moved to remove the array or to supply the elongated strip solar cells to the metal jig groove. The jig to be moved may take the form of a small part held on a chain conveyor or other suitable transport mechanism. If the assembly of elongated strip solar cells into sub-modules is done in a continuous manner, the transport mechanism proceeds through an adhesive curing stage and a linear electrical connection stage.

(Removal, handling and storage of planks)
As described above and in the elongated strip patent application, the elongated strip solar cells have an optically active surface that is perpendicular to the plane of the original wafer on which they are formed. However, generally, as in the case of the thick plate solar cell described above, the elongated solar cell is formed with an optically active surface in the same plane as the original elongated substrate. The elongated strip solar cell removal process described above has been developed to expose the optically active surface of each elongated strip solar cell. However, if the optically active surface of the elongated solar cell is formed in the same plane as the original starting wafer, as in the case of a thick plate solar cell, the next process is Used to remove planks or other shapes.

  Although the process and apparatus are described by a slab substrate on which solar cells are formed, the method and apparatus are not limited for use in slab solar cells and may or may not incorporate solar cells. Obviously, it is used in the form of

Referring to FIG. 59, a wafer 5901 incorporating a plurality of elongated thick plate substrates 5902 is supported on a chuck 5903 . The thick plate is partially cut in advance at the end portion so as to be easily broken from the wafer frame. The entire slab array 5904 is stacked in a slab “slab” frame 5906 where individual stacks are removed and stored in a single stack cassette 6106 or multilayer stack cassette 6006 . The removal of a single stack is performed using a narrow clamp arrangement from the edge of the plank end of the slab frame array holding mechanism , as shown in FIG . Preferably, a single stack 6502 is removed from the alignment retaining edge 6503 on the long side of the slab stack using a wide clamp 6504 with a short throat. The array holding assembly has a slot in the base so that the clamp can access a continuous stack, avoiding the requirement to move the stack left in the array to the side so that it can be easily accessed by the clamp. Alternatively, the remote alignment retaining wall is spring loaded or moved in a directed manner so that the plank stack to be removed is always placed against the approaching wall. The removed single stack 6502 is placed on a single stack supply cassette (and handled as described above for elongated strips) or a multilayer stack cassette (and handled as described above for strips). It is done.

In some cases, stacks 6005 spaced apart from each other between adjacent stacks (stack pitches) selected to correspond to the desired placement of the elongated substrates in the submodule formed from the elongated substrates. It is advantageous to have an elongate substrate stored in 6006 .

Referring to FIG. 60, all second planks are removed by a mechanical separation head (vacuum, electrostatic, sticky, reusable, etc.) 6001 and have a 2X stacked array pitch. , Stacked in a multi-layer stack cassette 6006 . A two-step operation sequence is required to remove all planks ready for feeding and stacking in the 2X cassette 6006 (as already described for strips). Alternatively, a three step operation is used to stack the planks at 3X pitch or the like. This is the preferred method of loading a 2X or 3X pitch multi-layer stack cassette for subsequent formation of the entire sub-module array of plank solar cells (as already described for elongated strips).

Referring to FIG. 61, planks 6101 are individually removed by mechanical separation head 6102 and stacked in a single stack cassette 6106 . Alternatively, the removed planks are sequentially stacked on the multilayer stack cassette 6006 . This process is useful if plank pitches other than the complete 2X, 3X, etc. formed by the removal of multiple planks of FIG. 60 are required. The next process involves strips.

Referring to FIG. 62, a plank wafer 5901 is held by top and bottom surfaces covering a plank array window 6201 of a clamp (not shown) that leaves four or more edges of the exposed plank wafer frame 6202. Is done. The plank wafer frame is then removed by folding four or more exposed parts. These parts may be partially pre-cut or removed by a scribe and break process. The top of the clamp (not shown) is then removed to expose the plank array. The base portion of the clamp may have an array of vacuum openings to keep the planks in their original spacing and orientation. Alternatively, the base portion may be covered with a reusable and partially sticky dressing to prevent misalignment of the removed planks. The planks are removed as a whole array towards the array slab holder (as shown in FIG. 59) or towards the multi-layer stack cassette where the whole array is formed (as shown in FIG. 60). The clamp arrangement may be, for example, a wafer placed into a line, clamped, the exposed surface folded, and toward a single stack cassette 6106 in a sequential process or in a generally spaced arrangement. A clamping surface moved by a linear actuator, for example in a fully automated in-line process, is removed towards a multilayer stack arrangement of the appropriate pitch or towards the slab slab holder frame 5906 in a fully continuous arrangement 6006. It may be configured.

Referring to FIG. 62 , the plank wafer is held by clamps (not shown) covering the top and bottom surfaces 6201 of the plank cell array leaving four or more wafer frame edges 6202 exposed. The plank wafer frame is subsequently removed by folding four or more exposed portions 6202 . These parts may be partially pre-cut or removed by a scribe break process. The top of the clamp is then removed to expose the plank array. The base part of the clamp has a mechanical confinement arrangement (not shown) that slides and covers the upper part of the end face of the plank. The spacing between the upper surface of the plank solar cell and the lower surface of the mechanical cage is sufficiently greater than the thickness of the plank cell to prevent jamming and folding the plank cell in the removed array. small.

Referring to FIG. 64, the opening or inlet of the arrangement removal end of the mechanical confinement mechanism is at least as wide as the length of the held plate battery 6402 . The removed plate cell array is moved toward the opening by the plate at the edge of the plate array away from the inlet or removal edge. The surface of the clamp that supports the bottom surface of the plate cell array terminates at an edge parallel to the long edge of the plate cell array. The edges are configured so that a single stack cassette 6403 is mounted directly from the planks in the removed array.

  Several processes are used to place the plate batteries in the cassette.

The cassette 6106 is mounted from the top as shown in FIG . In this case, it is important that the top surface of the plank 6605 in or previously stored in the cassette 6106 is sufficiently close to the plane of the top surface of the cassette and the top surface of the clamp, so that the plank 6606 is A moving sliding surface is formed so as not to turn over or get crowded at the corners of the upper surface of the cassette. The back edge of the plank entering the cassette is removed from the front edge of the plank, leaving a moving sliding surface. These two requirements are met by a mechanically coupled spring mechanism. The mechanically coupled mechanism grabs the edge of the plate cell stack 6107 , is level with the upper loading surface of the cassette, and adds the spacing and tolerances required for the plate solar cell thickness. Activate a double pair of “walking beams” (not shown) that pushes down the stack by distance. The plank battery slides into the cassette and the process repeats.

  Alternatively, these requirements are met by sensors and electrical control mechanisms. The plank movement is essentially the same.

Preferably, the planks 6606 inserted into a single stack cassette, together with a wheel driven in the direction in which the planks slide toward the cassette faster than the slide pushing the rest of the array, A soft rubber ring (not shown) that mates with the top surface is singulate from a given array that is slipped near the base / cassette edge of the clamp. The planks separated from the array are “driven through” through a sequence of mechanical interlocks. The mechanical system is arranged such that individual sensors and logical or electrical processing are not required. The next plank in the array will not proceed to the next step until the transported plank removes the specific mechanical interlock. Alternatively, the logically identical process is performed with electrical sensors and linear drive transport and logical control mechanisms.

The embodiment of FIG. 64 is a process similar to the top loading cassette, but here the cassette 6401 is loaded from the base. As shown in FIG. 62, the slab wafer is held by a clamp that covers the top and bottom surfaces, leaving four or more exposed edges. The plank wafer frame is subsequently removed by folding four or more exposed parts. These parts may be partially pre-cut or removed by a scribe and break process. The upper part of the clamp is removed to expose the plank array. The base part of the clamp has a mechanical confinement arrangement that covers the upper part of the end face of the plank. The spacing between the upper surface of the plank solar cell and the lower surface of the mechanical cage is sufficiently smaller than the thickness of the plank battery so as not to jam or fold the plank battery in the removed array.

Isolated array 6402 is an array of plank cells having the same spacing and orientation as the host wafer plank. The opening or inlet of the array removal end of the mechanical confinement mechanism is at least as wide as the length of the held plate battery. The removed plate cell array is moved towards the opening by a plate at the edge of the plate array away from the inlet or removal edge. The surface of the clamp that supports the bottom surface of the plate cell array terminates at an edge parallel to the long edge of the plate cell array. The edges are configured so that a single stack cassette 6401 is mounted directly from the array of planks removed.

There are several processes for moving the plank battery to the bottom loading cassette. In the case of FIG. 64 , the bottom surface of plank 6404 in or previously stored in the cassette passes through the top edge of the cassette loading opening to allow the next plank 6405 to be placed in the cassette. This is very important. This is done by a mechanical system introduced from the back of the bottom loading cassette. The walking beam system is similar to the top loading mechanism, but lifts the cassette stack 6406 by the amount required to provide spacing. In this case, only half of the walking beam system is required. The new plank is placed on the base of the cassette. The stack is unwound by the walking beam clamp, and the clamp re-engages at the bottom of the stroke, lifting the new stack of new planks to the base of the stack at the same distance to give the previous spacing. The cycle continues until the cassette is full.

The back edge of the plank that contains the cassette must be removed from the front edge of the plank that remains or is to be left in order to leave a moving sliding surface. These two requirements are met by a mechanically coupled spring mechanism. A mechanically coupled mechanism grabs the edge of the stack of plank cells and makes it the same height as the lower loading surface of the cassette, the current distance plus the required spacing and tolerance for the thickness of the plank solar cell only bring down the stack, operating the double pairs of "walking beam". The plank battery slides into the cassette, the raised stack is released and falls onto the plank introduced into the cassette, and the process repeats.

  Alternatively, these requirements are met by sensors and electrical control mechanisms. The plank movement is essentially the same.

Preferably, the planks inserted into a single 6108 stack cassette are the top surface of plank 6506 with a wheel driven in a direction that causes the planks to slide towards the cassette faster than to push the rest of the array. A soft rubber ring (not shown) that engages separates from a given array that slides near the base / cassette entrance edge of the clamp.

Since the bottom loading system does not react to the number of planks already in the cassette, the bottom loading cassette is a preferred version of a single stack cassette and is suitable for feeding. The partial plank stack needs to be lifted a defined distance in order to insert the next plank. The track need not be kept at the number of planks already in the cassette, or at the stack height. For electronic or sensor-based implementations this is not an important factor. For basic mechanical systems that are fast, cheap, and have simple processes and equipment, it is a valuable simplification.

  When compared to current practice for assembling photovoltaic power modules from elongated solar cells, the apparatus and process described in this specification greatly reduces the number of individual assembly steps and is a raft that is easily handled. As required, manufacture of mesh rafts or boat submodule assemblies. Rafts, mesh rafts, and boat sub-module assemblies facilitate the use of conventional photovoltaic module assembly equipment and conventional photovoltaic module materials produce photovoltaic power modules from elongated solar cell assemblies To be used when.

  The raft, mesh raft, and boat sub-module assemblies described in this document allow the manufacturer of elongated solar cells to be fast, efficient, and reliable using conventional photovoltaic module materials. Provides the ability to handle and assemble large numbers of elongated solar cells in a high yield, high throughput and low cost process.

The present invention in various forms has the following advantages.
(1) Separate and remove individual strips of solar cells from each wafer, but each separation cycle removes a large number of strips of solar cells in a large, parallel manner, and always in each implementation, individual strips of solar cells. Are positioned, handled, engaged, handled, arranged or handled without the need to resort to assembly.
(2) Engage in their plane with a large set or array of elongated strip solar cells, each elongated strip solar cell being pre-positioned in the required relative position with respect to the adjacent elongated strip solar cell; Form a complete raft in one process cycle.
(3) Except for the expensive equipment and advanced automation control requirements required to achieve accurate individual solar cell positioning, as required by the placement and assembly philosophy of individual elongated small piece solar cells, The relative position and orientation of the raft-assembled elongated strip solar cells is determined by either an alignment jig or a stack arrangement in a multi-layer stack bulk cassette.
(4) eliminate the problem of debris that occurs in the assembly process of in-line separation and elongated strip solar cell module configuration, eliminate the separated fragments that contaminate the array or the next assembly area, give.
(5) Actively maintain the orientation and polarity of the elongated small piece solar cells during each stage of assembly.
(6) An elongated strip solar cell raft or boat is a convenient aggregate shape of a group of elongated strip solar cells that facilitate the assembly of subsequent modules by using conventional equipment, materials and handling processes.
(7) Eliminate the need for engineering and complex control systems with large accuracy and large fine tolerances. All raft and boat assembly operations are easily performed by hand, in a short time, and at low cost.
(8) The use of thin wire interconnections for mesh rafts clearly reduces the shading of strips, especially the back of the strip cell where the strips are bonded to the horizontal beam, and the raft Eliminates the need for horizontal beam preparation and metallization.
(9) Flexible, well-symmetrical two-sided modules are easily constructed using a thin wire mesh raft assembly process that gives a thin assembly of strips that are easy to bend in many planes .
(10) Automation of assembly operation is very easy to understand. Handling 50 elongated solar cells at a time in each assembly operation cycle greatly simplifies handling and dramatically increases assembly throughput.

  The strip removal, handling and storage process and apparatus described herein preserves the orientation and polarity of the strips of solar cells during separation, handling, and sub-module assembly, and handling and light of strips of solar cells. Provides significant simplification of the photovoltaic module assembly process, greatly reduces the number of individual assembly steps required, manufactures rafts or boat submodules that are easy to handle, It is easy to use and allows conventional photovoltaic materials to be used in the manufacture of elongated strip solar cell modules.

  The foregoing is only a few embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, from the viewpoint of this disclosure, numerical changes, substitutions and modifications are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Obviously, this can be done without departing.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will be described hereinafter by way of example only with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a first preferred embodiment of a solar cell submodule formed from elongated solar cells and represented as a “raft” submodule. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of a portion of the body that is desired to be shown in FIG. 1, showing one form of electrical interconnection between elongated solar cells. FIG. 3 is a plan view of a second preferred embodiment of a solar cell submodule, represented as a “boat” submodule, illustrating one form of electrical interconnection between elongated solar cells. FIG. 4 shows one form of electrical interconnection suitable for both rafts and boat submodules where the conductive path connects the two edges of the elongated battery together on a horizontal beam or substrate. 3 is a plan view similar to FIG. 3, in which the solar cell is not shown in the lower part of FIG. FIG. 5 shows an oblique contact with the partially covered surface of the elongated solar cell to provide an electrical contact surface for both the optically inactive edge of each elongated solar cell and the adjacent active surface. It is a schematic sectional side view which shows use of vapor deposition of. FIG. 6 is an end view of an elongate solar raft or boat sub-module showing one form of mounting an elongate solar cell with electrical contacts on both sides and edges to a supporting horizontal beam or substrate. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how an elongated solar cell is mounted on a heat sink substrate in a tooth-like configuration. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a portion of a third preferred embodiment of a solar cell sub-module, designated as a “mesh raft” sub-module that includes only elongated solar cells and electrical interconnections therebetween. FIG. 9 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of a mesh raft sub-module with wire interconnects aligned along the direction of the array. FIG. 10 is a photographic image of a raft sub-module that has electrical interconnects formed using a silicon horizontal beam and a selective wave solder process and contains only solder and silicon material. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a preferred arrangement of elongated solar cells in a single array of silicon wafers. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional side view illustrating a preferred arrangement of elongated solar cells in a single array of silicon wafers. FIG. 13 is a plan view of a silicon wafer having an alternative arrangement of elongated strip cells processed in more than one area of each wafer. FIG. 14 is a plan view of a silicon wafer having an alternative arrangement of elongated strip cells processed in more than one area of each wafer. FIG. 15 is a plan view of a silicon wafer having an alternative arrangement of elongated strip cells processed in more than one area of each wafer. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional side view of a first preferred embodiment of an elongated strip wafer clamp of an elongated strip handling system. FIG. 17 is a plan view of a first preferred embodiment of an elongated strip wafer clamp of an elongated strip handling system. FIG. 18 is a plan view of an elongated strip cell wafer showing the removal of the top and bottom wafer frames from the wafer to expose the top and bottom strips. FIG. 19 is a plan view of an elongated strip battery wafer showing the removal of the top and bottom wafer frames from the wafer to expose the top and bottom strips. FIG. 20 is a front view of a preferred embodiment of the elongated strip storage device of the elongated strip handling system. FIG. 21 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of an elongated piece storage device of an elongated piece handling system. FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional side view of a second preferred embodiment of an elongated piece wafer clamp. FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional side view of a second preferred embodiment of an elongated piece wafer clamp. FIG. 24 is a plan view of a third preferred embodiment of an elongated piece wafer clamp. FIG. 25 is a side view of a third preferred embodiment of an elongated piece wafer clamp. 26 is a schematic diagram showing the application of adhesive tape to an elongated strip cell array in a wafer clamped by the elongated strip wafer clamp of FIGS. 24 and 25. FIG. FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram illustrating removal of an elongated strip cell array from an elongated strip cell wafer by separating the adhesive tape and wafer clamp. FIG. 28 is a schematic view of the resulting elongated strip battery assembly as a result of being secured by the adhesive tape. FIG. 29 is a side view showing placing the elongated strip battery assembly in an elongated strip storage device. FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram showing the removal of the adhesive tape from the elongated strip battery held in the elongated strip storage device. FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram showing a set of elongated piece batteries held by an elongated piece storage device. FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram of an elongated strip battery separation unit that supplies a single elongated strip from a set of elongated strip cells held by an adhesive tape. FIG. 33 is a schematic view of an elongated strip battery separation unit that supplies a single elongated strip on a solid jig or frame from a set of elongated strip cells held by an adhesive tape. FIG. 34 is an illustration of a processed wafer having one side cut to expose an elongated strip solar cell. FIG. 35 is an illustration of an elongated strip solar cell wafer with a portion of the frame removed to bring it closer to the elongated strip solar cell array with the wafer held in a clamp. FIG. 36 is an illustration of an array of elongated strip solar cell wafers with portions of the frame of each wafer removed to approximate the elongated strip solar cell array within the wafer. FIG. 37 is an illustration of an array of elongated strip solar cell wafers having portions of the frame of each wafer removed to approximate the elongated strip solar cell array within the wafer. FIG. 38 is an illustration of a stack of elongated strip solar cells removed from a wafer that has been processed and stored in a multi-layer stack cassette. FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrating one possible implementation of removal of a single elongated strip solar cell from a stack in a stack of multi-layer stack cassettes. FIG. 40 is a diagram illustrating one possible implementation of removal of elongated strip solar cells and the structure of the elongated strip raft arrangement of elongated strip solar cells from a multi-layer stack cassette. FIG. 41 is a diagram of one possible implementation of an elongated strip solar cell supply cassette. FIG. 42 is a diagram showing how an elongated strip solar cell is fed from an elongated strip supply cassette to an alignment jig. FIG. 43 is a diagram illustrating one possible implementation for assembly of an elongated strip raft sub-module in its original position that is assembled in the feeding process into an alignment jig. FIG. 44 is an image of an original elongated strip supply cassette showing an array of elongated strip solar cells placed in an alignment jig. FIG. 45 is a diagram showing a plan view of an array of wires stretched across the frame in a size that spans a submodule array of elongated strips. FIG. 46 shows a top view of an array of tweezers placed to grab a wire stretched on the frame. FIG. 47 is a plan view of a set of anvils introduced under wires stretched on a frame. FIG. 48 shows a top view of an array of cutting blades placed over a wire, an anvil array under the wire, and tweezers placed to grab the wire stretched over the frame. FIG. 49 shows a top view of an array of tweezers that grabs an array of short, cut wires. FIG. 50 is a plan view of an array of tweezers that grips an array of short, cut wire portions with a notched plate inserted into the array of short wire sections to bend the protruding ends of the short wire array FIG. FIG. 51 is a detailed plan view of a portion of an array of elongated strips introduced into an array of tweezers that grasps an array of short, cut wire portions held near the strip of strip electrodes. The wire is mechanically and electrically attached to the elongated strip electrode by using solder or a combination of solder and adhesive. FIG. 52 is a plan view of another form of elongated strip mesh raft with staggered or offset adjacent interconnections between elongated strip electrodes. FIG. 53 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of an elongated small battery module including busbars and battery interconnections. FIG. 54 is an enlarged view of the portion of FIG. FIG. 55 is a cross-sectional side view of the elongated small piece solar cell module portion taken along the line AA ′ in FIG. 54. FIG. 56 is a schematic view showing the formation of the bus bar of the elongated small battery module. FIG. 57 is a photographic image of the bus bar near the elongated strip. FIG. 58 is a photographic image of the busbar near the elongated strip showing no waveform near the electrical connection point. FIG. 59 shows a single step by using a mechanical separation head (vacuum, electrostatic, sticky, reusable, etc.) and then stacking like a completely unbroken array. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing simultaneous removal of an array of planks from a wafer. FIG. 60 is a schematic diagram illustrating the removal of planks from a wafer and stacking in an array that is spaced (2X) from each other. FIG. 61 is a schematic diagram showing individual removal of planks by mechanical separation heads (vacuum, electrostatic, adhesive, reusable, etc.) and stacking in a single stack cassette. FIG. 62 is a schematic diagram showing exposure of planks by removing one or more portions of the wafer frame. FIG. 63 is a schematic diagram showing how the exposed slabs are individually removed and stacked in a single stack cassette. FIG. 64 is a schematic diagram showing how a slab is loaded onto the mechanical stack from the base using a clamp and lift mechanism. FIG. 65 is a schematic diagram showing how planks are stored in a single cassette stack using a walking beam system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Raft submodule 101 ... Elongate solar cell 102 ... Horizontal beam 201 ... Conductive track 300 ... Boat submodule 701 ... Heat sink 800 ... Mesh raft 1600 ... Clamp 1606 ... Alignment slot 11000 ... Storage device 11002 ... Base 11006 ... Guide rail 11012 ... Spring 11602 ... Adhesive tape 12201 ... Roller 12203 ... Belt 12306 ... Jig 12940 ... Vacuum interlocking tool 14902 ... Electrical interconnection 14202 ... Wire 14401 ... Anvil 14604 ... Tweezers

Claims (20)

A photovoltaic device comprising a plurality of solar cell submodules, each solar cell submodule being mounted in a structure that keeps the elongated solar cells vertically parallel and generally coplanar Including
The structure comprises a plurality of thin and elongated horizontal beams spaced apart from each other, wherein at least one horizontal beam is coated with one or more conductive paths that electrically interconnect the elongated solar cells. A photovoltaic device.    The photovoltaic device of claim 1, wherein the horizontal beams can be thermally coexisted to prevent damage to the elongated solar cells or one or more conductive paths during temperature changes.    The photovoltaic device of claim 1, wherein the elongated solar cells are electrically interconnected in series to increase the output voltage of the solar cell submodule.    The photovoltaic device of claim 1, wherein the elongated solar cells are electrically interconnected in parallel to reduce the effects of light shielding on the output of the submodule.    2. The light of claim 1, wherein the elongate solar cells are electrically interconnected as groups electrically interconnected in parallel with each group of elongate solar cells electrically interconnected in series. Electromotive force device.    The photovoltaic device of claim 1, wherein the elongated solar cells are adjacent to each other.    The photovoltaic device of claim 1, wherein the elongated solar cells are spaced apart from each other. Each elongate solar cell includes two active surfaces, and the spacing between the elongate solar cells is selected based on illumination of the active surface of the elongate solar cell and the number of elongate solar cells in the submodule. 8. The photovoltaic device according to 7 .    The photovoltaic device of claim 1, wherein the structure is sealed with a transparent sealing material.    The photovoltaic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more horizontal beams are silicon.    The photovoltaic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more horizontal beams are polymer, ceramic, metal or glass.    The photovoltaic device of claim 1, wherein the size of the structure is substantially the same as a size of a standard solar cell.    The photovoltaic device of claim 1, wherein the at least one horizontal beam is an electrically insulating continuous or semi-continuous horizontal beam.    The photovoltaic device of claim 13, wherein the one or more conductive paths are formed in an electrically insulating horizontal beam.    15. The photovoltaic device of claim 14, wherein the electrically insulating horizontal beam is substantially silicon.    15. The photovoltaic device of claim 14, wherein the electrically insulating horizontal beam is substantially borosilicate glass, plastic, or ceramic.    The photovoltaic device of claim 13, wherein the electrically insulating horizontal beam is mounted on a heat sink.    In order to reflect the light transmitted through the gap between the elongated solar cells back toward the elongated solar cells in order to improve the efficiency of the photovoltaic device, a reflector mounted behind the solar cell submodule is further provided. The photovoltaic device according to claim 1, comprising:    Each of the elongated solar cells includes electrically conductive contacts on at least two adjacent surfaces of the solar cell, and one or more conductive paths are implemented in the electrically conductive contacts of the elongated solar cell; The photovoltaic device of claim 1, wherein the photovoltaic device is a substantially flat and electrically conductive region that electrically interconnects the elongated solar cells.    The photovoltaic device of claim 1, comprising a sheet of flexible material mounted in a structure to provide a flexible solar cell sub-module.