Batteries: thermoelectric and photoelectric – Photoelectric – Panel or array
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-03
2003-02-04
Diamond, Alan (Department: 1753)
Batteries: thermoelectric and photoelectric
Photoelectric
Panel or array
C136S251000, C257S443000, C257S464000, C257S459000, C438S066000, C438S067000, C438S080000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06515216
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates a photovoltaic device assembly, a solar cell module using the assembly and a manufacture method of the module and more particularly relates to a solar cell module in which the photovoltaic device assembly built therein is prevented from the penetrating phenomenon (a phenomenon the photovoltaic device assembly tears a coating material) and a manufacture method of the module.
2. Related Background Art
Recently, environmental issues have increasingly drawn attention and people have tended to be awaken to the matter in the world. Above all, the apprehensions about the global warming phenomenon following CO
2
emission have been serious and therefore development of clean energy has highly been expected.
Further, in the situation where draining of energy resources has become a big issue, a new energy source has been required to be urgently developed. Today, as such a substituting energy source, a solar cell can be said to be an expected clean energy source owing to its safeness and easiness to be handled.
A variety of embodiments of a solar cell are available and the representative ones are as follows:
(1) a single crystal silicon solar cell;
(2) a polycrystalline silicon solar cell;
(3) an amorphous silicon solar cell (in this patent application, the definition also includes a microcrystalline solar cell);
(4) a copper indium selenide solar cell;
(5) a compound semiconductor solar cell; and the like.
Among them, a thin film crystalline silicon solar cell, a compound semiconductor solar cell, and an amorphous silicon solar cell have recently been subjected to active investigation and development in a wide sphere since they are possible to be developed at relatively low costs and to have a large surface area.
Conventionally, a constitution of a module composed of such solar cells and shown in
FIG. 1
is representatively known. That is, the module is one obtained by sealing a photovoltaic device assembly
101
with a surface filler
102
and a back filler
104
in the outermost back face member
105
and coating the front face with a transparent outermost surface member
103
. Further, in the case where the outermost back face member
105
has the conductivity just like a metal steel plate, an insulating material such as an electrically insulating film represented as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and nylon is used between the outermost back face member
105
and the photovoltaic device assembly
101
.
In a solar cell module with such a constitution, generally, grass or a transparent polymer material such as a fluororesin film, an acrylic resin film and the like is used for the outermost surface member
103
and glass materials, steel sheets, hard plastics, flexible films and the like are used for the outermost back face member
105
. Further, as the surface filler
102
and the back filler
104
, those usable are organic resin compositions such as ethylene vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA), ethylene (meth)acrylic acid ester copolymers, ethylene (meth)acrylic acid copolymers, polyvinyl butyral (PVB) and the like.
Among them, a solar cell module using a transparent polymer material for the outermost surface member
103
and a flexible material for the outermost back face member
105
has flexibility and is light in weight and highly impact resistant as compared with that using glass for the outermost surface member.
Differing from a general solar cell equipped with a glass cover, such a solar cell module having flexibility can optionally be changed in forms. For example, if the outermost back face member
105
is made of a steel material, it is possible to curve corresponding to the flat faces and curved faces of a building and thus the solar cell module is suitable as those united with a building material. Further if the outermost back face member
105
is made of a flexible film, different from the case of using the steel material, the option of the form change is increased and the weight is light, so that the solar cell module obtained is possible to be easily attached to sheet-type outdoor leisure goods and portable goods and thus to be used in a variety of purposes.
On the other hand, the foregoing solar cell module having flexibility is inferior in durability to scratching as compared with that using glass for the outermost surface member and possible to be damaged of the element due to scratching or the like from the outside and damages of element are possible to considerably deteriorate the electric properties of the solar cell module and corrosion of metals used for the element may be promoted by permeation of water through the damaged portion. As a method for preventing such damages, there are adopted a method of adding to the surface filler
102
a reinforcing material such as the glass fiber materials and a method of increasing the hardness of the surface filler
102
.
As described above, particularly in the solar cell module having flexibility, various countermeasures have so far been proposed in relation to the protection method of a photovoltaic device from the outside force.
On the other hand, it has not so much been discussed regarding a practical protection method of a solar cell module from rupture and damages attributed to the internal force of the solar cell module as compared with the protection method of a photovoltaic device from the outside face.
The rupture and damages of a solar cell module attributed to the internal force of the solar cell module are phenomena as follows.
For example, if a flexible material such as a polymer material and the like is used for the outermost surface member
103
as described before, attributed to the effects of installation, transportation, handling, and further the situation after installation of a solar cell module, a photovoltaic device assembly
101
sealed in the solar cell module penetrates the outermost surface member
103
to deteriorate the appearance of the solar cell module and further that sometimes results in material deterioration by water penetration from the torn parts in the case where the penetration takes place after installation of the solar cell module in outdoors. The same takes place also in the case where the outermost back face member
105
is a polymer material.
Such penetration is affected by a manufacture method of a solar cell module and more particularly by a lamination method for sealing the photovoltaic device assembly with the outermost surface member, the outermost back face member, and the fillers.
Generally known as a lamination method for a solar cell module are a vacuum lamination method by a double vacuum or a single vacuum chamber method, a roll lamination method using a roll laminator. In a manufacture method of a solar cell module using a flexible polymer material for either one or both of the outermost surface member
103
and the outermost back face member
105
, manufacture methods using flexible materials by the roll lamination method are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-193266, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-64852, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-70886, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-65194. As compared with a vacuum heating method, these methods make it possible to continuously supply a material, to improve the mass productivity, and to lower the manufacturing cost.
However, in the case of employing the roll lamination method, as compared with other methods, the above described penetration phenomenon of the photovoltaic device assembly tends to take place rather frequently.
The effect of the penetration of the photovoltaic device assembly affects not only the quality and the manufacture method of a solar cell module. Workers may possibly be injured and hurt if the photovoltaic device assembly is being protruded out the coating material.
Taking the above described situation into consideration, the present invention is to provide a photovoltaic device assembly from protruding attributed to the manufacture, the installation, the transpor
Kataoka Ichiro
Shiotsuka Hidenori
Yamada Satoru
Zenko Hideaki
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Diamond Alan
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
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