Processing device of wiring member

Abstract

To provide a technique that can easily manufacture a solar cell module that can be suitably adopted as a member of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A processing device of a wiring member that can be used in the manufacturing of a solar cell module includes: a wiring supply unit which supplies a wiring member that has flexibility in a width direction and a longitudinal direction; a position restriction unit which sandwiches the wiring member supplied from the wiring supply unit in the width direction to restrict the movement in the width direction; a cutting unit which is positioned between the wiring supply unit and the position restriction unit, is extended from the wiring supply unit to the position restriction unit and cuts the wiring member in a state where a tip part side in a supply direction of the wiring member is restricted by the position restriction unit; a coordinate recognition unit which calculates positional coordinates on the basis of a cutting position by the cutting unit; and a conveyance unit which holds the wiring member cut by the cutting unit on the basis of the position coordinates to convey it to a prescribed position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 40

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wiring member processing device used in manufacturing a solar cell module. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, automobiles equipped with solar cell modules on the roof or hood have been announced. An example of such an automobile is the vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1. The vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a vehicle with solar cells installed on the exterior of the vehicle, and the solar cells are retrofitted to the roof member (roof portion) that forms the roof of the vehicle. In other words, the roof member and the solar cells of the vehicle are manufactured separately, and the solar cells are attached to the outer side (upper side) of the roof member.

[0003] In addition to these vehicles, vehicles with solar cells built into the roof member that serves as the roof are beginning to be sold. That is, this vehicle employs a solar cell module in which the outer portion of the roof member is formed of a translucent plate-like member, solar cells are arranged on the inner side of the outer portion, and a back sheet is arranged further inside the outer portion. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-13074 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Here, when actually manufacturing a roof component incorporating a solar cell (photovoltaic cell), since it will form the roof of a vehicle, it is preferable that the translucent plate-like component that will become the outer part is a curved plate-like component rather than a rectangular flat plate-like component. When a cell string in which multiple solar cells are arranged and electrically connected is arranged between a plate-shaped member and a back sheet and sealed to form a roof member, if a curved plate-shaped member is used, the cell string is arranged in a curved position along the outer plate-shaped member.

[0006] However, a cell string that is built in such a curved position needs to be manufactured in such a way that when the cell string is curved, the wiring members between the cells do not come off, causing the cells to become disconnected or the cells to become damaged. In other words, manufacturing such a cell string is more difficult than manufacturing a cell string built in a normal flat solar cell module. In view of the above, there has been a demand for a technology for more easily manufacturing a solar cell module that can be suitably used as a roof member for a vehicle, that is, a solar cell module in which multiple cell strings are sealed between a curved plate-like member and a back sheet.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique that enables easier manufacturing of a solar cell module that can be suitably adopted as a component of a vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the present invention for solving the above problem is a wiring member processing device having a wiring supply unit that supplies a wiring member in a longitudinal direction, the wiring member having freedom in the width and length directions, a position regulating unit that clamps the wiring member supplied from the wiring supply unit in the width direction to regulate movement in the width direction, a cutting unit that is located between the wiring supply unit and the position regulating unit, straddling from the wiring supply unit to the position regulating unit, and cutting the wiring member while the tip side of the wiring member in the supply direction is regulated by the position regulating unit, a coordinate recognition unit that calculates position coordinates based on the cutting position by the cutting unit, and a transport unit that holds the wiring member cut by the cutting unit based on the position coordinates and transports it to a predetermined position.

[0009] According to this aspect, it is possible to prevent (suppress) problems such as unintended deformation or misalignment of the wiring member when cutting the wiring member, and unintended dropping of the wiring member during transport, thereby making it easier to manufacture solar cell modules.

[0010] In a preferred aspect, the cutting portion and the position restricting portion are spaced apart from each other in the supply direction of the wiring member, and the wiring member cut by the cutting portion has an overhanging portion that overhangs from the position restricting portion.

[0011] According to this aspect, the wiring member can be easily transferred from the position regulating unit to the transport unit.

[0012] In a preferred aspect, the position regulating section is movable from the cutting section side toward the transport section side, and the position regulating section is moved toward the transport section side while holding the wiring member cut by the cutting section.

[0013] According to this aspect, since the wiring member can be moved as it is after being cut, there is no need to provide a separate conveying device, and the time required to complete the movement can be shortened compared to the case where the wiring member is conveyed using a separate conveying device.

[0014] A preferred aspect is a position regulating device having a main body and a plurality of position regulating parts, the plurality of position regulating parts being arranged in a circumferential direction around the main body, and the position regulating parts moving from the cutting section side toward the conveying section side as the main body rotates.

[0015] According to this aspect, the operation of moving the wiring member toward the transport section and the operation of cutting the wiring member can be performed in parallel.

[0016] In a preferred aspect, the transport section transports the wiring member to a predetermined position while holding the protruding portion of the wiring member held by the position regulating section.

[0017] In a preferred aspect, the wiring member transported to the predetermined position by the transport unit may further include a lifting unit that is capable of sucking the wiring member and lifting it upward.

[0018] According to this aspect, when the wiring member is sucked and lifted by the lifting portion, the wiring member can be sucked and lifted at a position where it is easy to lift. Effect of the Invention

[0019] The present invention can provide a technique that enables easier manufacturing of a solar cell module that can be suitably adopted as a vehicle component. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a cell string manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 2] 2 is a perspective view showing a cell string manufactured by the cell string manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a perspective view showing a device belonging to the wiring placement unit of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 4A and 4B are diagrams showing the wiring material supplying device of FIG. 3, in which (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a side view. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a position regulation device of FIG. 3. [Figure 6] 6A to 6C are explanatory views showing how the position regulating part is moved by rotationally driving the base part in the position regulating device of FIG. 5, in which the position regulating part moves in the order of (a) to (c). [Figure 7] 6A and 6B are diagrams showing the clamping portion of the position control device of FIG. 5, in which (a) is an oblique view showing a portion of the clamping portion in a clamping release position, (b) is a side view showing a portion of the clamping portion in a clamping release position, and (c) is a side view showing a portion of the clamping portion in a clamping position. [Figure 8] 6 is an explanatory diagram showing how the movable body part is moved horizontally to move the clamping part in the position control device of FIG. 5, where (a) shows the clamping part positioned in the reference position, and (b) shows the clamping part positioned in the separated position. [Figure 9] 6 is an explanatory diagram showing how the movable body part is moved horizontally to move the clamping parts in the position regulating device of FIG. 5, and shows the state before movement in which both clamping parts are disposed at the reference position. [Figure 10] 6 is an explanatory diagram showing how the movable body part is horizontally moved to move the clamping parts in the position regulating device of FIG. 5, and shows the state after the movement in which both clamping parts are disposed in the separated position. FIG. [Figure 11] 4 is a perspective view showing the wiring transport preparation device of FIG. 3. [Figure 12] 4A to 4C are explanatory views showing how the first base formation unit moves to a base formation position in the wiring transport preparation device of FIG. 3, and move in this order. [Figure 13] 12A and 12B are explanatory diagrams showing the state in which the wiring holder in FIG. 11 performs a swinging motion, in which (a) shows the state before the swinging motion is performed, and (b) shows the state after the swinging motion is performed. [Figure 14] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the wire mounting device of FIG. [Figure 15] 15A is a perspective view showing the wire placement member of FIG. 14, and FIG. 15B is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the support part of FIG. 15A is cut along the AA plane. [Figure 16] 15 is a plan view showing the wire placement member of FIG. 14. FIG. [Figure 17] 4 is a perspective view showing the tape transport preparation device of FIG. 3. [Figure 18] 4 is a side view showing the tape transport preparation device of FIG. 3. [Figure 19] 18A and 18B are diagrams showing the supply table portion in FIG. 17, in which (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a side view. [Figure 20] 18A to 18C are explanatory views showing the state in which the tape transport preparation device in FIG. 17 is performing a tape supplying operation, and the operations are performed in this order (a) to (c). [Figure 21] 18 is a plan view showing a supply table portion and a peeling auxiliary member of the tape transport preparation device of FIG. 17. [Figure 22]18A and 18B are diagrams showing the state in which the peeling auxiliary member is positioned before being raised during the tape lifting operation of the tape transport preparation device in Figure 17, where (a) is an oblique view showing the supply table portion and the auxiliary member main body and its surroundings, and (b) is a side view showing the main parts of (a). [Diagram 23] 18A and 18B are diagrams showing the state in which the peeling auxiliary member is positioned after being raised during the tape lifting operation of the tape transport preparation device in FIG. 17, in which (a) is an oblique view showing the supply table portion and the auxiliary member main body and its surroundings, and (b) is a side view showing the main parts of (a). [Figure 24] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the conveying device of FIG. [Diagram 25] 25 is a perspective view showing the hand unit in FIG. 24, seen from a different direction than in FIG. 24. [Figure 26] 26A and 26B are diagrams showing the main part of the conveying unit in FIG. 25, in which (a) is a plan view with the line of sight being from the tip end side to the base end side, and (b) is a side view. [Figure 27] 2 is a perspective view showing a heating device of the heat treatment unit of FIG. 1. [Figure 28] FIG. 28 is a perspective view showing a part of the heating device of FIG. 27. [Figure 29] 28A and 28B are diagrams showing the periphery of the hanging rod part of the heating device in FIG. 27, where (a) is an explanatory diagram showing the periphery of the hanging rod part from the upper end to the lower end, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing the periphery of the lower end of the hanging rod part with a part cut away. [Diagram 30] 28A and 28B are explanatory diagrams showing a part of the heating device of FIG. 27, in which (a) shows the heating member support part and the heating member in their natural state, and (b) shows the heating member attachment part and the heating member after being raised from the state shown in (a). [Diagram 31] 28A and 28B are diagrams showing how the heating member support part and the heating member rise and fall in the heating device of FIG. 27, the left diagram being an oblique view and the right diagram being a front view, where (a) shows the heating member support part and the heating member in an upward position, and (b) shows the heating member support part and the heating member in a downward position. [Diagram 32]28 is an explanatory diagram showing in an exaggerated manner the heating member mounting portion and the heating member oscillating along a first direction in the heating device of FIG. 27, in which (a) shows a natural position, (b) shows a position in which one side in the first direction is upward, and (c) shows a position in which the other side in the first direction is upward. [Diagram 33] 28A and 28B are explanatory diagrams showing in an exaggerated manner how the heating member attachment portion and the heating member are oscillating along the second direction in the heating device of FIG. 27, in which (a) shows a natural posture, (b) shows a posture in which one side in the second direction is upward, and (c) shows a posture in which the other side in the second direction is upward. [Diagram 34] 5A to 5C are explanatory views showing solar cells after an insulating tape application step, where (a) shows the second solar cell, (b) shows the third solar cell, and (c) shows the first solar cell. [Diagram 35] 5A to 5C are explanatory views showing solar cells after an adhesive application step, where (a) shows the second solar cell, (b) shows the third solar cell, and (c) shows the first solar cell. [Diagram 36] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing how solar cells are arranged in a cell arrangement step. [Figure 37] 10 is a plan view showing a first in-progress cell string formed by arranging solar cells in a cell arrangement step. FIG. [Figure 38] 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams showing how a position regulating portion of a position regulating device approaches a wiring material supplying device in the wiring forming process, in which the position regulating portion approaches the wiring material supplying device in this order. [Figure 39] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing how, in the wiring formation process, the position control section of the position control device approaches the wiring material supply device and then the tip portion of the wiring material is clamped by the clamping section, in which the tip portion of the wiring material is clamped in the order of (a) to (c). [Diagram 40] 1A is an explanatory diagram showing how a position control device transports a wiring member to a position away from a wiring material supply device during a wiring formation process, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing how a turntable portion of the position control device rotates following FIG. [Diagram 41]40(a) is an explanatory diagram showing the state after the rotating table part in FIG. 40(b) has rotated, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which the position control device transports the wiring member to the wiring transport preparation device in the wiring transfer process that follows (a). [Diagram 42] 11 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a position regulating portion of the position regulating device transfers a wiring member to a first wiring holding portion of the wiring transport preparation device in a wiring transfer process. FIG. [Diagram 43] This is an explanatory diagram showing how, during the wiring transfer process, the position regulating section of the position regulating device transfers the wiring member to the wiring holding section and moves to a position away from the wiring transport preparation device, in which the transfer of the wiring member and the movement of the position regulating section are performed in the order of (a) to (c). [Diagram 44] 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams showing how the position control section of the position control device passes the wiring member to the wiring holding section during the wiring transfer process, where (a) shows how the wiring member is passed to the second wiring holding section, (b) shows how the wiring member is passed to the third wiring holding section, and (c) shows how the wiring member is passed to the fourth wiring holding section. [Diagram 45] 1A is a plan view showing a state in which a first-unit forming unit holding a plurality of wiring members moves to a transport preparation position and waits there in a wiring transport preparation step; FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic side view of the wiring transport preparation device in the state of FIG. 1A; and FIG. 1C is an explanatory diagram showing a state after the wiring holding unit has shifted from the state of FIG. 1B to a non-holding state. [Diagram 46] 13 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the wiring transport preparation device executes a holding portion retracting operation in the wiring transport preparation step. FIG. [Figure 47] 15A and 15B are diagrams showing a state in which a wiring member is placed on the wiring placement member of the wiring placement device of FIG. 14, where (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a plan view. [Figure 48] 15A and 15B are diagrams showing a state in which a tape-attached wiring member is formed on a wire mounting member of the wire mounting device of FIG. 14, where (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a plan view. [Figure 49]1A and 1B are diagrams showing how the hand portion of the transport device holds the wiring member during the wiring transport process, where (a) is an oblique view showing the periphery of the hand portion, and (b) is a bottom view showing the holding mechanism portion as viewed from the tip side of the hand portion. [Figure 50] 1A to 1C are explanatory diagrams showing how the tape supply operation is performed to move the covering tape to the transport standby position and make it easy to peel off, in which the covering tape is moved to the transport standby position in the order of (a) to (c) and made to be in a position that makes it easy to peel off. [Figure 51] FIG. 51 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which the covering tape in a position that makes it easy to peel is being held by the hand portion of the conveying device, subsequent to FIG. 50. [Figure 52] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing how the hand portion of the conveying device holds a tape-attached wiring member during the tape-attached wiring conveying process, in which (a) is an oblique view showing the area around the hand portion, and (b) is a bottom view showing the holding mechanism portion as viewed from the tip side of the hand portion. [Figure 53] FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a second in-process cell string. [Figure 54] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing how the conductive adhesive portion is heated by a heating device in a heating process, where (a) is an oblique view, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing the positional relationship between the heating member and the tape-attached wiring member when the heating member has moved downward. [Figure 55] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged portion of the cell string in FIG. 2 with a see-through view of a lower portion of a covering tape, with the connecting reinforcing tape omitted. [Figure 56] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a wiring mounting member according to an embodiment different from the above-mentioned embodiment, in which (a) is an oblique view, and (b) is a plan view showing the wiring mounting member with a tape-attached wiring member placed thereon, with the covering tape shown through. [Figure 57] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a wiring mounting member according to an embodiment different from the above-mentioned embodiments, in which (a) is an oblique view and (b) is a plan view showing the wiring mounting member with a tape-attached wiring member placed thereon, with the covering tape shown through. [Figure 58]1A and 1B are diagrams showing a wiring mounting member according to an embodiment different from the above-mentioned embodiments, in which (a) is an oblique view and (b) is a plan view showing the wiring mounting member with a tape-attached wiring member placed thereon, with the covering tape shown through. [Figure 59] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a wiring mounting member according to an embodiment different from the above-mentioned embodiments, in which the left figure is an oblique view and the right figure is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged view of the area around the tape support portion, in which (a) shows the tape support portion in a position when placed and (b) shows the tape support portion in a position when lifted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0022] 1, a cell string manufacturing apparatus 1 (cell connected body manufacturing apparatus) according to an embodiment of the present invention has an insulator attachment section 2, an adhesive application section 3, an adhesive inspection section 4, a cell placement section 5, a wire placement section 6, a heat treatment section 7, and a connection reinforcement section 8. In addition, this cell string manufacturing apparatus 1 has a control device (not shown) that controls the operation of each device (described in detail later) belonging to each section.

[0023] The cell string manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment functions as part of a solar cell module manufacturing apparatus, and forms a cell string 201 (a solar cell connection, see FIG. 2) by connecting a plurality of solar cells 200. The cell string 201 formed by this cell string manufacturing apparatus 1 can be suitably adopted in a solar cell module that functions as a roof portion (roof member) of a vehicle. In other words, the cell string manufacturing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can be suitably adopted in a solar cell module manufacturing apparatus that functions as a roof portion (roof member) of a vehicle.

[0024] The solar cell module manufacturing apparatus (not shown) will be described in detail. The solar cell module manufacturing apparatus has a cell string manufacturing apparatus 1 (cell string manufacturing section), a laminate forming section (not shown), and a laminating section (not shown). The cell string manufacturing apparatus 1 manufactures a cell string 201, and the laminate forming section forms a laminate mainly including a light-transmitting substrate, a sealing material, the cell string 201, a sealing material, and a back sheet. At this time, the light-transmitting substrate is a part that forms the roof of the vehicle, and is a substrate having a curved shape. The laminate is then heated, pressed, and laminated in the laminating section to form a solar cell module.

[0025] The insulator application section 2 is a section that includes a conveyor device, a work robot, and an insulating tape supply device (not shown), and is the section that carries out the insulating tape application process of applying insulating tape (protective tape) to the solar cell 200 (described in more detail below).

[0026] The adhesive application unit 3 is a part that includes a conveyor device, a work robot, and an adhesive supply device (not shown). The adhesive application unit 3 is a part that performs an adhesive application process (application process) of applying adhesive to the solar cell 200 (described in detail later).

[0027] The adhesive inspection unit 4 is a part that includes a conveyor device, a work robot, and an inspection device, which are not shown. This adhesive inspection unit 4 is a part that performs an adhesive inspection process to determine whether or not the adhesive application process has been performed normally. For example, a camera is used as the inspection device, and after photographing the part where the adhesive has been applied, an image analysis is performed, and a determination operation is performed to determine whether or not the adhesive has been applied correctly.

[0028] The cell placement unit 5 is a section including a conveyor device and a work robot, not shown in the figure. The cell placement unit 5 is a section that performs a cell placement step of arranging a plurality of solar cells 200 so that adjacent solar cells 200 partially overlap each other (described in detail later).

[0029] The wire placement section 6 is a section that carries out a wire placement step in which wiring members 235 are placed on the plurality of solar cells 200 that have been arranged in the cell placement step (described in detail below). Heat treatment unit 7 is a section that carries out a heating step in which adhesive applied to solar cell 200 is heated with wiring member 235 and covering tape 240 (adhesive tape) placed on the adhesive (described in detail below). The connection reinforcement section 8 is a section that includes a conveyor device, a work robot, and an insulating tape supplying device (not shown), and is the section that carries out the connection reinforcement process of attaching insulating tape (connection reinforcement tape 250) to a connection body formed by multiple solar cell 200 (described in detail later).

[0030] Next, the wire placement section 6 and the heat treatment section 7 will be described in more detail.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 3, the wiring placement section 6 has a wiring material supplying device 10, a position regulating device 11, a wiring transport preparation device 12, a wiring placement device 13, a tape transport preparation device 14, and a transport device 15 (transport member). 3, the wiring mounting section 6 of the present embodiment has a plurality (two) of tape transport preparation devices 14, but may have one tape transport preparation device 14, or may have three or more tape transport preparation devices 14. Similarly, the other devices belonging to the wiring mounting section 6 may have a plurality of devices, not limited to one.

[0032] The wiring material supplying device 10, the position control device 11, the wiring transport preparation device 12, and the transporting device 15 function together as a wiring member processing device (wiring member forming device) that processes the wiring material 26 to form a wiring member 235 (see Figure 40, etc.) and transports the wiring member 235 to a predetermined position. Further, the tape feed preparation device 14 and the feed device 15 function as an adhesive tape supply device that pays out the adhesive tape and feeds it to a predetermined position. Furthermore, the wiring placement device 13, the tape feed preparation device 14, and the feed device 15 function as an adhesion processing device that adheres the wiring member 235 to the adhesive surface of the covering tape 240 (adhesive tape).

[0033] As shown in FIG. 4, the wiring material supplying apparatus 10 has a supplying apparatus main body 22 (wiring supplying section) and a cutting apparatus 23 (cutting section). The supply device main body 22 has an accommodation space 22a therein for accommodating most of the wiring material 26, and has a supply opening 22b that connects the accommodation space 22a to the outside. Here, wiring material 26 is formed of a conductive metal, and is a wound body in which a flat, strip-like knitted wire (wiring member) is wound around a core member to form a roll. Then, wiring material 26 is cut to a predetermined length and processed to form wiring member 235 (see FIG. 40, etc.). Wiring material 26 and wiring member 235 have a mesh structure (mesh), and are prone to warping and bending. In other words, wiring member 235 is flexible and can bend temporarily, and has degrees of freedom in the width and length directions.

[0034] Further, a payout device (not shown) that pays out the tip end portion (the portion on one end side in the length direction) of the wiring material 26 is provided inside the supply device main body 22. The tip end portion of the wiring material 26 is paid out to the outside from the supply opening 22b by this payout device.

[0035] The cutting device 23 has a blade 23a, and the blade 23a is moved up and down by a power source (not shown). The blade 23a is disposed near the supply opening 22b. Then, with a portion of the wiring material 26 extending from the inside to the outside of the supply device main body 22, the blade 23a moves up and down to cut the wiring material 26, and the tip end portion of the wiring material 26 is separated from the base end portion.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 5, the position regulating device 11 has a regulating device main body 30 (main body), a first position regulating portion 31 (position regulating portion), and a second position regulating portion 32 (position regulating portion).

[0037] The regulating device main body 30 has a rotatably arranged flat base 30a and a rotation mechanism 30b that rotates the base 30a. That is, the regulating device main body 30 functions as a turntable (rotating base), and the base 30a rotates around a vertical axis L1. When the base 30a rotates, the first position regulating part 31 and the second position regulating part 32 arranged on the base 30a move in their entirety at once (see FIG. 6, which will be described in detail later).

[0038] As shown in FIG. 5, the first position regulating unit 31 has a clamping unit 35, an installation base unit 36, and a regulating side drive mechanism unit 37 that moves the clamping unit 35 and the installation base unit 36 ​​horizontally.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 7( a ), the clamping portion 35 has a pair of a first clamping piece 40 and a second clamping piece 41 , and a clamping main body 42 . The first clamping piece 40 has a clamping plate portion 45 in the form of an upright plate and a base end side sliding body 46, which are attached integrally.

[0040] The inner portion of the clamping plate portion 45 has upper and lower portions recessed outward, and a vertical midsection that protrudes further inward than the upper and lower portions. That is, the clamping plate portion 45 has an upper recessed portion 45a, an intermediate protruding portion 45b, and a lower recessed portion 45c on the inside. The upper recessed portion 45a is recessed more than the lower recessed portion 45c, and the clamping plate portion 45 is formed so that the upper portion is the thinnest, the middle portion is the thickest, and the lower portion is slightly thinner than the middle portion.

[0041] The base end side sliding body 46 is a portion having a substantially T-shaped shape in a plan view, and is integrally formed with a sliding body main body 46a and a mounting plate portion 46b in the form of a standing plate protruding from the sliding body main body 46a.

[0042] The sliding body main body 46a is a sliding piece that is partially fitted into a groove formed in the clamping main body portion 42 and moves within the groove.

[0043] The mounting plate portion 46b protrudes in a direction from the clamping body portion 42 side toward the clamping plate portion 45 side. In detail, the protruding direction of the mounting plate portion 46b is a direction perpendicular to the vertical axis L1, and is a radial direction with respect to the vertical axis L1 (see Figs. 5, 6, etc.). Note that the radial direction with respect to the vertical axis L1 is also a radial direction of a virtual circle (not shown) centered on the vertical axis L1 (the central portion of the regulating device body portion 30) in a plan view. 7(a), the mounting plate portion 46b is a portion that is attached to the clamping plate portion 45. In this embodiment, the clamping plate portion 45 is attached to the mounting plate portion 46b with the inner surface of the mounting plate portion 46b abutting against an upper portion of the outer surface of the clamping plate portion 45.

[0044] The second clamping piece 41 is a member having the same shape as the first clamping piece 40, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0045] As shown in Fig. 7(b) and Fig. 7(c), in the clamping unit 35 of this embodiment, the first clamping piece 40 and the second clamping piece 41 are each capable of moving relative to the clamping main body 42. In detail, the first clamping piece 40 and the second clamping piece 41 are arranged such that the inner parts of the respective clamping plate parts 45 face each other, and each is capable of moving in the thickness direction of the clamping plate part 45. In other words, the respective clamping plate parts 45 can be moved in directions approaching each other and in directions away from each other.

[0046] In other words, the clamping portion 35 is capable of changing its position between a clamping release position (see Figure 7(b)) in which the clamping plate portions 45 of the first clamping piece 40 and the second clamping piece 41 are separated from each other, and a clamping position (see Figure 7(c)) in which the clamping plate portions 45 are separated from each other. In the clamping release position, the inner end (intermediate protruding portion 45b) of the clamping plate portion 45 of the first clamping piece 40 and the inner end (intermediate protruding portion 45b) of the clamping plate portion 45 of the second clamping piece 41 are separated from each other. On the other hand, in the clamping position, the inner end portions of the clamping plate portions 45 are close to each other (the inner end portions are closer to each other than in the clamping release position).

[0047] When the clamping portion 35 of this embodiment is in the clamping position, a clamping space 48 is formed below the two intermediate protruding portions 45b. The clamping space 48 is a space formed between the bottom surface (inner surface) of the lower recess 45c of the first clamping piece 40 and the bottom surface (inner surface) of the lower recess 45c of the second clamping piece 41, and has an opening at the tip side of the two clamping pieces (the near side of FIG. 7(c)) and extends toward the base end side. The tip side of the two clamping pieces is also the outer end side in the radial direction with respect to the vertical axis L1 (see FIG. 6, etc.). The clamping space 48 is formed on the installation base 36, and the lower part is closed by the installation base 36.

[0048] In this embodiment, a minute gap is formed between the inner surfaces of the two intermediate protrusions 45b in the clamping position, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the inner surfaces of the two intermediate protrusions 45b may be in surface contact with each other in the clamping position. Also, only one of the two clamping pieces may be movable.

[0049] 5 and 6, the installation base 36 is a flat plate-like portion on which the clamping unit 35 is placed. That is, the clamping unit 35 is disposed on the installation base 36. Here, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7, the lower surfaces of the two clamping plates 45 are in surface contact with the upper surface of the installation base 36. When the clamping plate 45 moves, that is, when the clamping plate 45 changes its position between the clamping release position and the clamping position, the two clamping plates 45 move while maintaining the surface contact state.

[0050] 5, the restriction side drive mechanism 37 has a movable body 37a and a drive mechanism main body 37b. The movable body 37a is attached to the drive mechanism main body 37b in a state in which it can move relatively to the drive mechanism main body 37b. In detail, the restriction side drive mechanism 37 has the movable body 37a arranged to be horizontally movable, and the movable body 37a can be moved horizontally by power supplied from a drive source of the drive mechanism main body 37b. Here, the installation base 36 is attached to the movable body 37a, and as described above, the clamping unit 35 is attached to the installation base 36. In other words, the clamping unit 35 is attached to the movable body 37a via the installation base 36. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 8, by horizontally moving the movable body 37a, the clamping unit 35 and the installation base 36 move horizontally together with the movable body 37a.

[0051] More specifically, as shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 8, the movable body 37a can move horizontally in a radial direction (left and right direction in Fig. 8) relative to the vertical axis L1, and can move in a direction parallel to the horizontal direction away from the vertical axis L1, and in a direction parallel to the horizontal direction toward the vertical axis L1. The radial direction relative to the vertical axis L1 is also a direction perpendicular to the vertical axis L1 in a plan view. Therefore, the clamping unit 35 and the installation base unit 36 ​​can also move in the same direction as the movable body 37a. That is, the clamping portion 35 on the movable portion 37a can move from a reference position close to the vertical axis L1 to a separated position away from the vertical axis L1, and also from the separated position to the reference position.

[0052] The second position regulating portion 32 is a member similar (or substantially similar) to the first position regulating portion 31 having a clamping portion 35, an installation base portion 36, and a regulating side drive mechanism portion 37, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0053] 5 and 6, in the position regulating device 11 of this embodiment, the first position regulating portion 31 and the second position regulating portion 32 are arranged in mutually opposite directions and are arranged side by side in the circumferential direction of the vertical axis L1. In other words, the position regulating devices 11 are arranged at positions spaced apart in the circumferential direction of a virtual circle centered on the central portion of the regulating device main body 30 in a plan view. The first position regulating portion 31 and the second position regulating portion 32 are both arranged in such a manner that the tip side (the first clamping piece 40 and the second clamping piece 41 side) of the clamping portion 35 faces outward in the radial direction relative to the vertical axis L1. From the above, when the base portion 30a of the regulating device main body portion 30 rotates around the vertical axis L1, the first position regulating portion 31 and the second position regulating portion 32 move while the tip side of the clamping portion 35 faces outward in the radial direction relative to the vertical axis L1, as shown in Figure 6. In the position regulating device 11, the base portion 30a rotates by 180 degrees in a plan view, thereby switching the positions of the first position regulating portion 31 and the second position regulating portion 32. At this time, since the first position regulating portion 31 and the second position regulating portion 32 have the same shape (or approximately the same shape), the overall shape of the position regulating device 11 becomes the same (or approximately the same).

[0054] 9 and 10, when the clamping portion 35 of the first position regulating portion 31 and the clamping portion 35 of the second position regulating portion 32 both move horizontally from the reference position to the separated position, the two clamping portions 35 move away from each other in the radial direction relative to the vertical axis L1. When the two clamping portions 35 both move horizontally from the separated position to the reference position, they move toward each other in the radial direction relative to the vertical axis L1. That is, the clamping portion 35 can move in a circumferential direction around the vertical axis L1 along an arc-shaped or circular movement path, and can move linearly from the reference position to the separated position along a linear movement path. In either state of the rotational movement or the linear movement, the tip side of the clamping portion 35 faces outward in the radial direction relative to the vertical axis L1.

[0055] As shown in Fig. 11, the wiring transport preparation device 12 has a first-unit forming section 55 (transport section) and a second-unit forming section 56. As shown in Fig. 12, the first-unit forming section 55 is formed to be movable in the horizontal direction and is capable of moving relative to the second-unit forming section 56.

[0056] The first-unit forming portion 55 has a flat first-unit forming piece portion 60 and four wiring holding portions 61 (a first wiring holding portion 61a to a fourth wiring holding portion 61d).

[0057] The first plate forming piece 60 is a flat portion having a substantially quadrangular shape in plan view as shown in Fig. 11. In detail, the first plate forming piece 60 has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, with the longitudinal direction being the same as the movement direction of the first plate forming part 55 (the left-right direction in Fig. 12), the width direction being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the up-down direction, and the thickness direction being the up-down direction.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 13, the wire holding portion 61 has an extension portion 63, a connection portion 64, and a nozzle portion 65. The extension portion 63 is a portion that extends upward from the first base forming piece portion 60, and is a portion where a lower base portion 63a and an upper columnar portion 63b are continuously formed. The base portion 63a and the columnar portion 63b are both generally cylindrical in shape, and the diameter of the base portion 63a is larger than the diameter of the columnar portion 63b. The connecting portion 64 is continuous with the upper portion of the extending portion 63, and extends in a cantilever manner toward the side (a direction that includes a horizontal component, that is, the horizontal direction in this embodiment). The nozzle portion 65 is a tubular portion extending further downward from the lower portion on the free end side of the connecting portion 64. In other words, the nozzle portion 65 has a space inside, and an opening portion (not shown, hereinafter also referred to as a suction port portion) that communicates the internal space with the outside is formed in the lower portion (the tip side portion in the extending direction).

[0059] In addition, the lower end portion of the nozzle portion 65 is formed at a position above and away from the upper surface of the first base forming piece portion 60, and a gap portion 66 is formed between the lower end portion of the nozzle portion 65 and the upper surface of the first base forming piece portion 60.

[0060] Here, the extension portion 63, the connection portion 64, and the nozzle portion 65 each have an internal space, and these internal spaces are connected to form a continuous space (not shown). The wiring transport preparation device 12 also has a suction device (not shown), and the continuous space formed by connecting the internal spaces of the extension portion 63, the connection portion 64, and the nozzle portion 65 forms at least a part of a suction path leading from the suction device to the suction port of the nozzle portion 65. That is, all of the four wiring holding parts 61 of the first-unit forming part 55 are capable of performing a suction operation to suck an object through the suction port of the nozzle part 65. In this embodiment, the four wiring holding parts 61 are arranged so as to be aligned linearly at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the first-unit forming piece part 60.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 13, the wire holding portion 61 of this embodiment is capable of swinging about a vertical axis Lα by power supplied from a power source such as a motor (not shown). Here, the vertical axis Lα is an imaginary line passing through the center of the cross section of each portion of the extension portion 63. In other words, the swiveling action is an action in which the extension portion 63 rotates circumferentially around the vertical axis Lα, causing the extension portion 63 and the connecting portion 64 to change position, and the tip side (free end portion) of the connecting portion 64 and the nozzle portion 65 to move circumferentially around the vertical axis Lα.

[0062] As shown in Figures 11 and 12, the second base forming portion 56 has a flat second base forming piece portion 67 and is provided with four base side suction portions 68 (first base side suction portion 68a to fourth base side suction portion 68d).

[0063] The second base forming piece 67 is a flat portion having a substantially quadrangular shape in plan view. In detail, the second base forming piece 67 has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, a longitudinal direction thereof is the same as the moving direction of the first base forming part 55, a width direction thereof is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction, and a thickness direction thereof is the vertical direction.

[0064] As shown in Figures 11 and 12(a), four notches 70 are formed in the second base forming piece portion 67. For convenience of drawing, in Figure 11, only some of the notches 70 are labeled with reference numerals, and the reference numerals for the others are omitted. In the following description, when there are multiple similar parts, the reference numerals will be omitted as necessary. As shown in Figure 11, the cutout portion 70 extends in a direction from one widthwise side surface of the second base forming piece portion 67 (the side surface on the first base forming piece 55 side) toward the other widthwise side surface, and penetrates the second base forming piece portion 67 in the vertical direction.

[0065] 11, the table-side suction portion 68 is formed by each of the cutouts 70 and a table-side suction member 73 located below each of the cutouts 70. The table-side suction member 73 has a suction port portion at an upper portion and has a space therein. The space therein forms at least a part of a suction path from the suction port portion to a suction device (not shown). Therefore, the table-side suction portion 68 is capable of performing a suction operation to suck an object through the suction port portion of the table-side suction member 73 . In this embodiment, the upper end portion of the table-side suction member 73 is located below the lower end of the cutout 70, and the suction port portion is located below the lower end of the cutout 70. However, this is not limiting, and at least a part of the table-side suction member 73 may be disposed inside the cutout 70. The suction port portion may be located slightly above the upper end opening (upper end portion) of the cutout 70, may be located at the same height as the upper end opening, or may be located below the upper end opening, but it is more preferable to arrange it so that it is at a height equal to or lower than the upper end opening.

[0066] 12(a), the four cutouts 70 are formed so as to be aligned linearly at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the second base forming piece 67. Therefore, the four base side suction portions 68 are also aligned linearly at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the second base forming piece 67.

[0067] In the wiring transport preparation apparatus 12 of this embodiment, the first unit forming section 55 moves linearly as described above. Specifically, as shown in Figure 12, the first base formation part 55 is movable between a receiving position (see Figure 12(a)) away from the second base formation part 56 where it receives the wiring member 235 at the base side suction part 68, and a transport preparation position (see Figure 12(c)) close to the second base formation part 56. Here, the receiving positions in this embodiment include a first receiving position (see FIG. 42) at which the first-unit-side suction portion 68a receives the wiring member 235, and a second receiving position (see FIG. 43(a)) at which the second-unit-side suction portion 68b receives the wiring member 235. In addition, the receiving positions include a third receiving position (see FIG. 43(b)) at which the third-unit-side suction portion 68c receives the wiring member 235, and a fourth receiving position (see FIG. 43(c)) at which the fourth-unit-side suction portion 68d receives the wiring member 235. In other words, the first unit formation unit 55 can wait at any one of the plurality of receiving positions. Also, the first unit formation unit 55 can move from any one of the receiving positions to another receiving position, and move from any one of the receiving positions to the transport preparation position.

[0068] 12(c), in a plan view, the four wiring holding portions 61 and the four base side suction portions 68 are aligned in the width direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 12) of the first base forming piece portion 60 and the second base forming piece portion 67. The width direction of the first base forming piece portion 60 and the second base forming piece portion 67 is also the parallel direction (arrangement direction) of the first base forming piece portion 60 and the second base forming piece portion 67. In detail, the rotation center (vertical axis Lα) of each wiring holding portion 61 and a portion of each other base side suction portion 68 are arranged in the parallel direction of the first base forming piece portion 60 and the second base forming piece portion 67. At this time, the four base side suction portions 68 are all formed in positions adjacent to the boundary portion between the first base forming piece portion 60 and the second base forming piece portion 67 in a plan view. Furthermore, at the boundary portion between the first base forming piece portion 60 and the second base forming piece portion 67, at least a portion of the side surface of the first base forming piece portion 60 facing the second base forming piece portion 67 and the side surface of the second base forming piece portion 67 facing the first base forming piece portion 60 are in surface contact with each other. Furthermore, the upper surface of the first base forming piece portion 60 and the upper surface of the second base forming piece portion 67 are disposed at the same (or approximately the same) height.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 14, the wire placement device 13 has a plurality of wire placement members 77 (placement members).

[0070] In the wiring mounting device 13 of this embodiment, a plurality of wiring mounting members 77 are arranged in a matrix, more specifically, a plurality of wiring mounting members 77 are arranged in a 3 × 4 matrix in a plan view. The wiring mounting members 77 are members having an approximately rectangular parallelepiped outer shape, and are arranged such that the width direction of each wiring mounting member 77 is the same as the row direction of the matrix, and the length direction (longitudinal direction) of the wiring mounting member 77 is the same as the column direction of the matrix.

[0071] The wire placement member 77 has a wire placement portion 80, a tape support portion 81 (support portion), a wire suction portion 82 (suction portion), and a lifting assistant portion 83, as shown in FIG. 15(a).

[0072] The wire placing portion 80 is a groove-like portion formed near the center in the width direction of the wire placing member 77, and has two groove edge portions 80a formed at positions separated in the same width direction, and a groove forming portion 80b located therebetween. The longitudinal direction (extension direction) of the wire placing portion 80 is the same as the longitudinal direction of the wire placing member 77, and the wire placing portion 80 extends linearly along the longitudinal direction of the wire placing member 77. Therefore, the width direction of the wire placing portion 80 is the same as the width direction of the wire placing member 77. The groove forming portion 80b is a downwardly recessed portion located at the center side in the width direction. That is, the wire mounting portion 80 has two groove walls formed at positions separated in the width direction and a groove bottom portion connecting the lower end portions of the two groove walls. The groove forming portion 80b is surrounded on three sides by the two groove walls and the groove bottom portion.

[0073] 15(a) and 15(b), the tape support portion 81 has a plurality of protrusions 81a. In this embodiment, the plurality of protrusions 81a are formed to be aligned in the longitudinal direction of the wire mounting member 77. In other words, in the tape support portion 81, convex portions and concave portions are alternately aligned in the longitudinal direction of the wire mounting member 77.

[0074] The protrusions 81a are protrusions having a triangular (mountain-shaped) cross section taken along a plane perpendicular to the width direction of the wire mounting member 77. Therefore, a groove formed between the two protrusions 81a has a triangular groove shape that narrows downward. The vertical length (height) of the protrusions 81a is 0.5 mm or more and 2 mm or less. The distance between the vertices of the protrusions 81a is 0.5 mm or more and 2.0 mm or less. The "distance between the vertices of the protrusions 81a" here refers to the distance from the vertex (upper end) of one protrusion 81a to the vertex (upper end) of another protrusion 81a that is closest to the one protrusion 81a in the cross section of Figure 15(b). In this embodiment, the apex of the protrusion 81a is formed at the same height as the groove edge 80a, that is, at a higher position than the groove bottom of the groove forming portion 80b.

[0075] 15(a) and 16, the wire mounting member 77 of the present embodiment has two tape support parts 81, and the wire mounting part 80 is located between the two tape support parts 81. That is, one tape support part 81, the wire mounting part 80, and the other tape support part 81 are arranged in this order from one end side to the other end side in the width direction of the wire mounting member 77.

[0076] 15(a), the wire suction section 82 includes a plurality of suction ports formed in the bottom of the groove of the wire mounting section 80, and a suction mechanism (not shown) disposed below the plurality of suction ports. That is, the wire mounting member 77 of this embodiment is capable of sucking an object above the wire mounting section 80 toward the wire mounting section 80 (below) by the wire suction section 82. The multiple suction openings of the wire suction portion 82 are formed so as to be aligned at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the wire mounting member 77 .

[0077] 16, the lifting auxiliary part 83 is configured to include an injection hole part 85 formed in the tape support part 81, and a gas injection mechanism (not shown) located below the injection hole part 85 (the back side of FIG. 16). That is, the wire mounting member 77 of this embodiment is capable of injecting gas onto an object located above the tape support part 81 by the lifting auxiliary part 83. In this embodiment, a peeling operation is possible in which compressed air is injected onto the object (described in detail later).

[0078] The wire placement member 77 of the present embodiment has a plurality of (two) lifting auxiliary parts 83, each of which is made up of a first lifting auxiliary part 83a and a second lifting auxiliary part 83b. The first lifting auxiliary part 83a is configured to include an injection hole part 85 (hereinafter also referred to as a first injection hole part 85a) belonging to the first injection hole group 87, and a gas injection mechanism (not shown) located below it. On the other hand, the second lifting auxiliary part 83b is configured to include an injection hole part 85 (hereinafter also referred to as a second injection hole part 85b) belonging to the second injection hole group 88, and a gas injection mechanism (not shown) located below it.

[0079] The first injection hole portions 85a are provided in each of the two tape support portions 81, and more specifically, in each tape support portion 81, multiple (three) first injection hole portions 85a are provided at a position toward one side end of the wire mounting member 77 in the longitudinal direction. Each of the first injection holes 85a formed in one tape support portion 81 and each of the first injection holes 85a formed in the other tape support portion 81 are formed at positions spaced apart in the width direction of the wire placement member 77. The first injection holes 85a formed in one tape support portion 81 are formed to be arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the wire placement member 77. At this time, as shown in FIG. 15(a), some of the first injection holes 85a are formed to penetrate a part of one protrusion portion 81a in the vertical direction. Other first injection holes 85a are formed to straddle multiple (two) protrusion portions 81a and to penetrate a part of one protrusion portion 81a and a part of the other protrusion portion 81a in the vertical direction.

[0080] 16, the second injection hole portions 85b are also provided in each of the two tape support portions 81. In detail, in each tape support portion 81, a plurality of (three) second injection hole portions 85b are provided at a position closer to the other end portion in the longitudinal direction of the wire mounting member 77. Each of the second injection holes 85b formed in one tape support portion 81 and each of the second injection holes 85b formed in the other tape support portion 81 are formed at positions spaced apart in the width direction of the wire mounting member 77. The second injection holes 85b formed in one tape support portion 81 are formed to be arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the wire mounting member 77. At this time, some of the second injection holes 85b are formed to penetrate a part of one protrusion portion 81a in the up-down direction. Others of the second injection holes 85b are formed to straddle multiple (two) protrusion portions 81a and to penetrate a part of one protrusion portion 81a and a part of the other protrusion portion 81a in the up-down direction.

[0081] As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the tape transport preparation device 14 has a supply source device 93 (supply source forming section), a waiting table device 94, and a peeling auxiliary device 95 (peeling auxiliary section).

[0082] As shown in Figure 18, the supply source device 93 is capable of incorporating or attaching an adhesive tape roll (not shown) in a predetermined position, which is made by winding adhesive tape around a core member to form a roll, and has an adhesive tape payout device 93a and an adhesive tape cutting device 93b. The adhesive tape payout device 93a is a device that pays out the leading end portion of the adhesive tape from the adhesive tape roll. The adhesive tape cutting device 93b is a device that cuts the tip end portion of the unwound adhesive tape to a predetermined length. That is, the adhesive tape cutting device 93b cuts the unwound adhesive tape at a position a predetermined length away from the tip of the unwound adhesive tape, thereby separating the tip end portion of the adhesive tape from the base end portion, and forming an adhesive tape of a predetermined length.

[0083] The standby table device 94 has a base forming portion 94a having a substantially truncated cone shape, and a supply table portion 94b located above the base forming portion 94a.

[0084] As shown in Fig. 19, the supply table portion 94b has, from above, a first flat surface portion 97, a first inclined surface portion 98 (adhered surface), a second flat surface portion 99 (adhered surface), and a second inclined surface portion 100 (adhered surface). As shown in Fig. 19(b), the general shape of the supply table portion 94b is such that a thick, approximately truncated cone-shaped upper portion composed of the first flat surface portion 97 and the first inclined surface portion 98 is positioned above a thin, approximately truncated cone-shaped lower portion composed of the second flat surface portion 99 and the second inclined surface portion 100.

[0085] The first flat surface portion 97 is a portion that has a substantially circular shape in a plan view, and forms the upper surface (upper end surface) of the supply table portion 94b that is a surface perpendicular to the up-down direction.

[0086] The first inclined surface portion 98 is continuous in an annular (circular) shape in a plan view, and is formed so as to surround the first flat surface portion 97. As shown in Fig. 19(b) , the first inclined surface portion 98 is inclined so as to widen outward in the radial direction of the upper surface of the supply table portion 94b as it extends downward.

[0087] The second flat surface portion 99 is continuous in an annular (circular) shape in a plan view, and is formed so as to surround the first flat surface portion 97 and the first inclined surface portion 98. The second flat surface portion 99 forms a horizontal surface portion (a surface perpendicular to the up-down direction) located in the middle of the supply table portion 94b in the up-down direction.

[0088] The second inclined surface portion 100 is continuous in an annular (circular) shape in a plan view, and is formed so as to surround the first flat surface portion 97, the first inclined surface portion 98, and the second flat surface portion 99. The second inclined surface portion 100 is inclined so as to widen outward in the radial direction of the upper surface of the supply table portion 94b as it extends downward.

[0089] From the above, the second flat surface portion 99 has an inner end portion in the radial direction of the upper surface of the supply table portion 94b that is continuous with the lower end portion of the first inclined surface portion 98, and an outer end portion in the same radial direction that is continuous with the upper end portion of the second inclined surface portion 100. In other words, the lower end portion of the first inclined surface portion 98 and the upper end portion of the second inclined surface portion 100 are positioned at positions shifted inward and outward in the same radial direction. Moreover, the length of the first inclined surface portion 98 in the vertical direction is longer than the length of the second inclined surface portion 100 in the vertical direction. The portion from the first inclined surface portion 98 through the second flat surface portion 99 to the second inclined surface portion 100 is an inclined portion in which two different inclined portions are intermittently formed, and is an inclined portion that is inclined downward as a whole. In other words, this portion is inclined downward as it goes outward in the radial direction of the upper surface of the supply table portion 94b.

[0090] As shown in FIGS. 17 and 20, the supply table portion 94b is capable of rotating about a vertical axis L2 by power from a power source such as a motor (not shown). The vertical axis L2 is a virtual line passing through the center of the cross section of each part of the supply table portion 94b. In other words, the vertical axis L2 is a virtual line passing through the center of the upper surface, and is a virtual line passing through the center of the smallest inclusive circle (the smallest imaginary circle that includes everything inside, not shown) that includes the supply table portion 94b in a plan view. In this embodiment, the smallest inclusive circle that includes the supply table portion 94b in a plan view is also a virtual circle that is formed by tracing the outer edge portion of the supply table portion 94b in a circular shape in a plan view. Therefore, the radial direction of the upper surface of the supply table portion 94b is also the radial direction with respect to the vertical axis L2 (the radial direction of an imaginary circle centered on the vertical axis L2 in a plan view).

[0091] In detail, the tape transport preparation device 14 of this embodiment is capable of a tape supplying operation, as shown in FIG. The tape supplying operation is an operation for attaching an adhesive tape before being transported to the supply table portion 94b, and the tape supplying operation of this embodiment is capable of attaching a plurality of adhesive tapes before being transported.

[0092] That is, in the tape feed preparation device 14, the leading end side of the adhesive tape fed from the supply source device 93 is attached to the supply table portion 94b (the portion from the first inclined surface portion 98 to the second inclined surface portion 100 in the radial direction relative to the vertical axis L2). Then, with the leading end side of the adhesive tape attached to the supply table portion 94b, the supply source device 93 cuts the adhesive tape at a position away from the leading end side. As a result, an adhesive tape of a predetermined length is formed, and the formed adhesive tape is attached to the supply table portion 94b.

[0093] At this time, the part of the adhesive tape located inside in the radial direction with respect to the vertical axis L2 is attached to the supply table portion 94b, while the part located outside in the radial direction is not in contact with the supply table portion 94b. In other words, the adhesive tape is attached in a cantilever manner to the supply table portion 94b so that the part located outside in the radial direction of the adhesive tape is a free end (floating state). After the adhesive tape has been applied in a cantilever manner, the supply table portion 94b rotates about the vertical axis L2, thereby transporting the adhesive tape to a predetermined position.

[0094] In this embodiment, when a plurality of adhesive tapes are attached to the supply table 94b in a cantilevered manner in the tape supply operation, the operation of rotating the supply table 94b about the vertical axis L2 after attaching the adhesive tapes in a cantilevered manner is repeated. That is, the first adhesive tape is attached in a cantilevered manner, then the supply table 94b is rotated about the vertical axis L2, the second adhesive tape is attached in a cantilevered manner, and then the supply table 94b is rotated about the vertical axis L2. Similarly, the third adhesive tape is attached in a cantilevered manner, and then the supply table 94b is rotated about the vertical axis L2, and so on.

[0095] As shown in FIG. 17, the peeling assistant device 95 includes a peeling assistant member 105 and a lifting mechanism .

[0096] The peeling auxiliary member 105 has an auxiliary member main body 105a and an extending member 105b extending in a rod shape. The auxiliary member main body 105a functions as a push-up member that pushes the adhesive surface of the adhesive tape upward (described in detail later), and has a lower block-like portion and a protruding portion that protrudes further upward from the upper side of the block-like portion. The block-like portion is attached to the tip of the extension member 105b, and the protruding portion protrudes so that its upper portion is located above the upper surface of the extension member 105b. In addition, the outer surface of the auxiliary member main body 105a is a non-adhesive surface to which the adhesive surface of the adhesive tape does not stick (or to which it is extremely difficult to stick). In this embodiment, the outer surface of the auxiliary member main body 105a is formed by forming fine irregularities on the surface by blasting or the like, and filling the recesses with resin so as to leave the irregular shapes. This non-adhesive surface uses an adhesive tape conforming to "JIS Z 1522 Cellophane Adhesive Tape", and the non-adhesiveness specified by a method conforming to the test method of "JIS Z 0237 Test Method for Adhesive Tape and Adhesive Sheet" in which the test piece is peeled off at 90° is preferably less than 1.6 N / 10 mm, more preferably less than 0.08 N / 10 mm, and even more preferably less than 0.01 N / 10 mm. In this embodiment, it is less than 0.01 N / 10 mm. The "non-adhesive surface" referred to here is a surface that has been processed to prevent the adhesive surface of the adhesive tape from sticking, and is not limited to a surface to which the adhesive surface of the adhesive tape does not stick at all, but includes a surface that has a certain level of non-adhesiveness (a surface on which the peeling force when peeling the adhesive tape is less than a certain level). Therefore, for example, it may be a surface from which the adhesive tape peels off when the adhesive tape is peeled off at 180° with a force of 0.5 N / cm or less.

[0097] 21, the auxiliary member main body 105a has an auxiliary member side recess 108 that is recessed radially outward relative to the vertical axis L2 in a plan view. The auxiliary member side recess 108 extends along the edge of the supply table portion 94b in a plan view and is adjacent to the edge of the supply table portion 94b.

[0098] The extension member 105b is a substantially rectangular bar-shaped member with a portion missing, and in this embodiment, extends in the horizontal direction.

[0099] As shown in Fig. 17, the lifting mechanism 106 has a lifting mechanism main body 106a and a lifting member 106b. As shown in Figs. 22 and 23, the lifting member 106b is formed so as to be movable up and down by power supplied from a power source such as a motor (not shown). In other words, the lifting member 106b is movable relative to the lifting mechanism main body 106a, and moves in the up and down direction.

[0100] Here, the peeling auxiliary member 105 is attached to the lifting member 106b. In detail, one end portion of the extension member 105b in the longitudinal direction, which is the end portion opposite to the end portion to which the auxiliary member main body 105a is attached, is attached to the lifting member 106b. That is, the peeling assisting member 105 is attached to the lifting member 106b in a cantilever manner, with the assisting member main body 105a located at the tip side which is the free end side.

[0101] 22 and 23, the tape feed preparation device 14 is capable of performing a tape lifting operation for raising and lowering the peeling assistant member 105. That is, the peeling assistant member 105 can change its position between a lifting standby position (see FIG. 22) in which it is positioned on the lower side and a lifting position (see FIG. 23) in which it is positioned on the upper side.

[0102] When the peeling auxiliary member 105 is in the lifting standby position, the upper end portion of the auxiliary member body 105a is located lower than the lower end of the second inclined surface portion 100 (see FIG. 22). On the other hand, when the peeling assisting member 105 is in the lifted position, the upper end portion of the assisting member main body 105a is located above the lower end of the second inclined surface portion 100 (see FIG. 23).

[0103] 24, the conveying device 15 has a conveying device main body 110 and conveying means 111 supported by the conveying device main body 110. The conveying device 15 of this embodiment has two (plural) conveying means 111 consisting of a first conveying means 111a and a second conveying means 111b.

[0104] The transport means 111 has a hand unit 115 and a multi-joint arm unit 116 that movably operates the hand unit 115. Thus, the transport device 15 of this embodiment is capable of moving the entire hand unit 115 in three-dimensional directions.

[0105] 25, the hand unit 115 has a plurality (four) of holding mechanisms 118 (first holding mechanism 118a to fourth holding mechanism 118d), and the plurality of holding mechanisms 118 are arranged side by side. In the following description of the hand unit 115, the arm unit 116 side is the base end side, and the opposite side is the tip end side, unless otherwise specified.

[0106] 25 and 26, the holding mechanism 118 has a transport-side wire holding portion 121 (lifting portion, wire adsorption portion) and a transport-side tape holding portion 122 (peeling and adsorption portion, tape adsorption portion). In detail, the holding mechanism 118 of this embodiment has a plurality (two) of transport-side tape holding portions 122 consisting of a first transport-side tape holding portion 122a and a second transport-side tape holding portion 122b.

[0107] The transport-side wire holding portion 121 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped base portion 121a and a wire holding side protrusion 121b protruding from the base portion 121a toward the tip side. The wire holding side protrusion 121b protrudes from a longitudinal midway portion of the base portion 121a. Therefore, the transport-side wire holding portion 121 has a substantially convex shape in side view from the transport-side tape holding portion 122 side.

[0108] 25 and 26(a), the wiring holding protrusion 121b has a holding groove 125 at its tip end. The holding groove 125 is a groove recessed toward the base end and extends linearly. The holding groove 125 is a groove into which a part of the wiring member 235 is fitted almost exactly (see FIG. 49, etc.).

[0109] Here, the conveying-side wiring holding unit 121 has a conveying-side wiring suction unit 127. The conveying-side wiring suction unit 127 is configured to include a suction port portion formed in the groove bottom portion of the holding groove portion 125 and a suction device (not shown), and has a suction path formed between the suction port portion and the suction device. Thus, the holding mechanism unit 118 of this embodiment is capable of a suction operation of sucking the wiring member 235 from the suction port portion to the base end side.

[0110] As shown in FIGS. 25 and 26(a), the transport-side tape holding section 122 has a suction cup member 129 and a tape suction section . The suction cup member 129 is configured to be attached to the flat surface of an object (adhesive tape). That is, the suction cup member 129 is formed from an elastic material such as rubber or synthetic resin, and is a dome-shaped (bowl-shaped with a convex base end) member that opens on the tip side, as shown in Fig. 25 and Fig. 26(b). Also, the suction cup member 129 has a suction hole portion 133 provided on the base end side, as shown in Fig. 25 and Fig. 26(a). The suction hole portion 133 is a hole that connects the space inside the suction cup member 129 to the outside when the tip portion of the suction cup member 129 is in contact with the flat surface of the object.

[0111] The tape suction unit 130 is configured to include a suction port portion which is the tip side opening of the suction hole portion 133, and a suction device (not shown), and has a suction path formed between the suction port portion and the suction device. As a result, the holding mechanism unit 118 of this embodiment is capable of a suction operation in which the tip side portion of the suction cup member 129 is attached to the target object and the air inside the suction cup member 129 is sucked from the suction port, thereby suctioning the target object by negative pressure.

[0112] 26(a), in the holding mechanism 118 of this embodiment, the conveying-side wiring holding portion 121 is positioned between two conveying-side tape holding portions 122. In detail, in a plan view seen from the tip side, the holding groove portion 125 is positioned between two suction cup members 129 (suction holes 133). That is, one transport-side tape holding portion 122 (suction cup member 129) is located at a position spaced apart from one longitudinal end of holding groove 125 to one side in the longitudinal direction. Moreover, the other transport-side tape holding portion 122 (suction cup member 129) is located at a position spaced apart from the other longitudinal end of holding groove 125 to the other side in the longitudinal direction. In other words, one transport-side tape holding portion 122, transport-side wiring holding portion 121, and the other transport-side tape holding portion 122 are lined up at intervals in the longitudinal direction of holding groove 125.

[0113] The heat treatment section 7 has a heating device 138 as shown in FIG. The heating device 138 includes a heating device main body 140 and a heating object transport section 141 .

[0114] The heating device main body 140 includes a heating member 150 , a heating member support part 151 , and a heating member lifting device 152 .

[0115] The heating member 150 is a heater that functions as a flat heating plate, and the lower surface of the heating member 150 is a heating surface (contact surface) that comes into contact with the heating target. In other words, the heating member 150 is an electric heater having a substantially rectangular flat plate shape (substantially rectangular parallelepiped) and has a heat generating part, and the heating surface is heated to a predetermined temperature by the heat generating part.

[0116] As shown in FIG. 28, the heating member support portion 151 has a support member 160, a hanging rod portion 161, and a heating member attachment portion 162. In this embodiment, one heating member support part 151 has one support member 160, four hanging rod parts 161, and two heating member mounting parts 162, and the two heating member mounting parts 162 are attached to one support member 160. At this time, the two heating member mounting parts 162 are each attached to the support member 160 via the two hanging rod parts 161. In this embodiment, two heating member mounting parts 162 are attached to one support member 160, but one or three or more (plural) heating member mounting parts 162 may be attached to one support member 160. Also, while one heating member mounting part 162 is attached via two hanging rod parts 161, it may be attached via one or three or more (plural) hanging rod parts 161.

[0117] As shown in FIG. 28, the support member 160 has a base end side portion 160a located on the heating member lifting device 152 side, and a support plate portion 160b protruding from the base end side portion 160a in a direction including a horizontal component. The base end side portion 160a is a portion whose outer shape is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped that extends vertically, and is a portion that is attached integrally to a part of the heating member lifting device 152 (the movable member 152b). The support plate portion 160b is a rectangular flat plate-like portion protruding from the base end side portion 160a, and is cantilevered from the base end side portion 160a. Note that the support plate portion 160b in this embodiment is formed so that a portion on the base end side is thicker than the other portions.

[0118] The support plate portion 160b is formed with an insertion hole portion 168 (see FIG. 30(b)), through which a part of the hanging rod portion 161 is inserted. In detail, the support plate portion 160b has a plurality (four) of abutment portions 169, as shown in FIG. 28. The abutment portions 169 are generally rectangular parallelepiped protrusions (protrusions) that protrude (rise) upward from a part of the upper surface of the support plate portion 160b. The insertion hole portion 168 is a hole that penetrates from the upper end of each abutment portion 169 to the lower end of the support plate portion 160b (see FIG. 30(b)).

[0119] 29, the hanging rod part 161 is a round bar-shaped member extending in the vertical direction and has, from the top, an upper engagement part 161a, an intermediate part 161b, and a lower engagement part 161c. That is, the upper engagement part 161a is formed at one end part (upper end part) in the longitudinal direction of the hanging rod part 161, the lower engagement part 161c is formed at the other end part (lower end part), and the intermediate part 161b is located between them.

[0120] The upper engagement portion 161a is a generally cylindrical portion, and is thicker (has a larger diameter) than the intermediate portion 161b. The intermediate portion 161b is a generally cylindrical portion that is thinner than the upper engagement portion 161a. That is, the outer peripheral surface (side surface) of the upper engagement portion 161a and the side surface of the intermediate portion 161b are continuous with each other via a step. The lower engaging portion 161c is a block-shaped portion located below the intermediate portion 161b, and is disposed in an attachment portion inner space 171 which is the internal space of the heating member attachment portion 162 (see FIG. 29(b)).

[0121] 30(a) and the like, the heating member mounting portion 162 is formed integrally with a mounting base portion 162a having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape and a protruding portion 162b formed on the upper side of the mounting base portion 162a. The heating member mounting portion 162 of this embodiment has a plurality (two) of protruding portions 162b, each of which is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped portion protruding upward.

[0122] 29(b), the heating member mounting portion 162 has an inner mounting portion space 171 inside the heating member mounting portion 162 (protrusion 162b). That is, the heating member mounting portion 162 has a hollow portion at least inside the protrusion 162b. The heating member mounting portion 162 has a mounting portion communication hole 172 that communicates the mounting portion internal space 171 with the outside. As shown in Figures 29, 30(a), etc., the mounting portion communication hole 172 is a hole that has an opening on the upper surface of the protrusion 162b and extends in the vertical direction. As shown in Figure 30(a) etc., the heating member mounting portion 162 of this embodiment has a plurality (two) of mounting portion communication holes 172, and the openings of each mounting portion communication hole 172 are formed on the upper surface of a different protrusion 162b.

[0123] 28, the heating member lifting device 152 has a lifting device main body 152a and a movable member 152b. The movable member 152b is a plate-like portion formed so as to be movable relative to the lifting device main body 152a, and moves horizontally in the up-down direction by power supplied from the drive source of the lifting device main body 152a.

[0124] 31, in the heating device main body 140 of the present embodiment, a support member 160 is attached to a movable member 152b of a heating member lifting device 152. Therefore, by lifting and lowering the movable member 152b, the entire heating member support part 151 and the heating member 150 attached to the heating member support part 151 (heating member attachment part 162) are lifted and lowered.

[0125] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the heating member attachment part 162 and the heating member 150 are suspended by the hanging rod part 161, and the heating member attachment part 162 and the heating member 150 are in a state in which they can move upward. That is, as shown in Fig. 30, by lifting the hanging rod part 161, the heating member attachment part 162, and the heating member 150 upward, they are in a state in which they can move upward. 30(a), when the support member 160 is located at the upper position, in a natural state, a downward force is applied to the two hanging rods 161 due to the weight of the heating member mounting part 162 and the heating member 150. That is, the lower engagement part 161c of the hanging rod part 161 is engaged with the upper part of the mounting part internal space 171 (see FIG. 29(b)), and a downward force is applied to the lower engagement part 161c, so that a downward force is applied to the hanging rod part 161.

[0126] 30, the middle portion 161b of the hanging rod portion 161 is sized so that it can be fitted almost exactly into the insertion hole portion 168, whereas the upper engagement portion 161a is sized so that it cannot pass through the insertion hole portion 168. For this reason, when a force is applied downward to the hanging rod portion 161, the lower surface of the upper engagement portion 161a abuts against the upper surface of the abutment portion 169 (see FIG. 30(a)). This prevents the hanging rod portion 161 from moving downward.

[0127] That is, the hanging rod part 161 is movable upward from a state in which the lower surface of the upper engagement part 161a abuts against the upper surface of the abutment part 169, and is movable downward from a state in which the lower surface of the upper engagement part 161a is upwardly separated from the upper surface of the abutment part 169. In other words, the hanging rod part 161 is movable relative to the support member 160, and is attached so as to be movable in the vertical direction within a predetermined range.

[0128] 29, in this embodiment, the diameter of the middle portion 161b of the hanging rod portion 161 is smaller than the diameter of the attachment portion communicating hole 172, and the middle portion 161b is loosely fitted into the attachment portion communicating hole 172. Also, as shown in FIG 29(b), the lower engagement portion 161c of the hanging rod portion 161 is formed to a size (and / or shape) such that it cannot pass through the attachment portion communicating hole 172, and the size (volume) of the lower engagement portion 161c is sufficiently small compared to the size (capacity) of the attachment portion internal space 171. As described above, the heating member attachment portion 162 and the heating member 150 are attached to the two hanging rod portions 161 so as to be relatively movable in various directions.

[0129] That is, the heating member mounting portion 162 and the heating member 150 can be moved upward relative to the hanging rod portion 161 until the lower portion of the lower engagement portion 161c abuts against the lower wall surface (not shown) of the mounting portion internal space 171. Also, from the state in which the lower portion of the lower engagement portion 161c abuts against the lower wall surface of the mounting portion internal space 171, the heating member mounting portion 162 and the heating member 150 can be moved downward relative to the hanging rod portion 161. That is, they are mounted so as to be movable up and down within a predetermined range relative to the hanging rod portion 161. Furthermore, the middle portion 161b is loosely fitted into the attachment portion communication hole 172, so that the heating member attachment portion 162 and the heating member 150 are movable in each direction in the horizontal direction (direction perpendicular to the up and down direction). Here, a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction and parallel to the conveying direction of the object to be heated below the support plate portion 160b is defined as a first direction X1, and a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction and the first direction X1 is defined as a second direction Y1 (see FIG. 27). At this time, the heating member attachment portion 162 and the heating member 150 are movable in a direction having at least one of the first direction X1 component and the second direction Y1 component. From the above, the heating element mounting portion 162 and the heating element 150 are attached to the hanging rod portion 161 so as to be freely swingable in the direction along the first direction X1 (see Figure 32) and freely swingable in the direction along the second direction Y1 (see Figure 33).

[0130] That is, as shown in Fig. 32, the heating member attachment portion 162 and the heating member 150 can change their positions between a position in which one end in the first direction X1 is higher than the other end (see Fig. 32(b)) and a position in which the other end in the first direction X1 is higher than the one end (see Fig. 32(c)). In other words, the one end and the other end in the first direction X1 can swing up and down in opposite directions. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 33, the heating member attachment portion 162 and the heating member 150 can change their positions between a position in which one end in the second direction Y1 is higher than the other end (see Fig. 33(b)) and a position in which the other end in the second direction Y1 is higher than the one end (see Fig. 33(c)). In other words, the one end and the other end in the second direction Y1 can swing up and down in opposite directions. In this manner, the heating element mounting portion 162 and the heating element 150 are mounted with some wobble so that one or more points are positioned higher than the other parts, making it possible for them to assume positions tilted in various directions.

[0131] 27, the heating target transport section 141 has a transport platform section 141a and a rail section 141b, and the transport platform section 141a is capable of running on the rail section 141b. That is, the transport platform section 141a moves in a horizontal direction (a direction including a horizontal component). The rail portion 141b is disposed at a position where at least a part of it is below the support plate portion 160b. That is, the travel path of the transport platform portion 141a includes a position below the support plate portion 160b. Note that the travel path of the transport platform portion 141a in this embodiment is a straight path, and a midway portion of the travel path includes a position below the support plate portion 160b.

[0132] The transport platform 141a can wait at each part of the travel path. In other words, the transport platform 141a can wait with a part of it disposed below the support plate 160b, then travel downstream of the travel path, and wait with another part of it disposed below the support plate 160b.

[0133] Next, a procedure for forming a cell string 201 in the cell string manufacturing apparatus 1 (see FIG. 1) according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0134] First, in the insulator attachment section 2, an insulating tape attachment step of attaching insulating tape to the solar cell 200 is carried out. As shown in FIG. 2, the cell string 201 of this embodiment is formed by arranging a first solar cell 200a, a second solar cell 200b, and a third solar cell 200c. The first solar cell 200a is a solar cell 200 that is arranged in a portion of the cell string 201 at one end side in the arrangement direction of the solar cells 200. The second solar cell 200b is a solar cell 200 arranged in the cell string 201 at the other end side in the arrangement direction of the solar cells 200. The third solar cell 200c is a solar cell 200 that is arranged in the cell string 201 in a midway portion between both end portions in the arrangement direction of the solar cells 200. 2, in this embodiment, the length direction of the cell string 201 (the arrangement direction of the solar cell 200) is the width direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 34) of each solar cell 200. Also, the width direction of the cell string 201 (the direction perpendicular to the length direction of the cell string 201 in a plan view) is the length direction of each solar cell 200 (the horizontal direction in FIG. 34).

[0135] 34, the solar cell 200 has a one-side terminal portion 210 and an other-side terminal portion 211. One of the one-side terminal portion 210 and the other-side terminal portion 211 is a positive electrode and the other is a negative electrode, and therefore have opposite polarities.

[0136] The solar cell 200 of this embodiment has a plurality of (four) terminal portions, each of which is composed of a first terminal portion 210a, a second terminal portion 210b, a third terminal portion 210c, and a fourth terminal portion 210d, as a one-side terminal portion 210. In other words, these four terminal portions have the same polarity. The multiple one-side terminal portions 210 are formed so as to be aligned at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the solar cell 200. Each one-side terminal portion 210 is a substantially rectangular region in a plan view with the thickness direction of the solar cell 200 as the line of sight, and the size of each region is the same. The other-side terminal portion 211 is formed at a position separated from the one-side terminal portion 210 in the width direction of the solar cell 200. The other-side terminal portion 211 is a substantially rectangular region that is elongated in the width direction of the solar cell 200 in a plan view with the thickness direction of the solar cell 200 as the line of sight.

[0137] In the insulating tape application step, as shown in FIG. 34(c), a first protective tape 215 and a second protective tape 216 are applied to first solar cell 200a. The first protective tape 215 and the second protective tape 216 are adhesive tapes having an adhesive surface on one side portion (one main surface) in the thickness direction and a non-adhesive surface on the other side portion (the other main surface), and are heat-resistant tapes with heat resistance, and insulating tapes with insulating properties. The first protective tape 215 is attached at a position adjacent to the four one-side terminal portions 210, and adjacent to the opposite side to the other-side terminal portions 211. In this embodiment, the first protective tape 215 is attached so as to extend from one end portion (near the one end portion) to the other end portion (near the other end portion) in the width direction of the first solar cell 200a. The second protective tape 216 is attached at a position adjacent to the other-side terminal portion 211, and adjacent to the one-side terminal portion 210. In this embodiment, the second protective tape 216 is attached so as to extend from one side end (near the one side end) to the other side end (near the other side end) in the width direction of the first solar cell 200a.

[0138] In the insulating tape application step, a first protective tape 215 is applied to second solar cell 200b as shown in Fig. 34(a). In second solar cell 200b, first protective tape 215 is applied to a position adjacent to four one-side terminal portions 210, adjacent to the other-side terminal portion 211. Furthermore, in the insulating tape application step, as shown in Fig. 34(b), a first protective tape 215 is applied to the third solar cell 200c. In the third solar cell 200c, similar to the first solar cell 200a, the first protective tape 215 is applied to a position adjacent to the four one-side terminal portions 210, adjacent to the opposite side to the other-side terminal portion 211. After the insulating tape application step is completed, the solar cell 200 is transported from the insulator application section 2 to the adhesive application section 3.

[0139] Next, in adhesive applicator 3, an adhesive application step is carried out in which adhesive is applied to solar cell 200. In the adhesive application step, as shown in Fig. 35, a conductive adhesive is applied to each of the multiple one-side terminal portions 210 (first terminal portion 210a to fourth terminal portion 210d) of the solar cell 200. This forms one-side conductive adhesive portions 220, which are portions of the solar cell 200 where the conductive adhesive is applied. In detail, multiple (four) one-side conductive adhesive portions 220 are formed, each consisting of a first one-side adhesive portion 220a (first conductive adhesive portion), a second one-side adhesive portion 220b (second conductive adhesive portion), a third one-side adhesive portion 220c, and a fourth one-side adhesive portion 220d.

[0140] The one-side conductive adhesive portion 220 (conductive adhesive portion) is located within the area of ​​the one-side terminal portion 210 in a plan view with the thickness direction of the solar cell 200 as the line of sight. That is, in the same plan view, the area of ​​the one-side conductive adhesive portion 220 is smaller than the area of ​​the one-side terminal portion 210, and is located inside the outer periphery (the edge portion that is the boundary with other portions) of the one-side terminal portion 210.

[0141] Furthermore, a conductive adhesive is applied to multiple locations of the other-side terminal portion 211 of the solar cell 200. In this way, an other-side conductive adhesive portion 221, which is a portion of the solar cell 200 where the conductive adhesive is applied, is formed. In this embodiment, a plurality of other-side conductive adhesive portions 221 are formed so that the number of other-side conductive adhesive portions 221 is the same as the number of one-side terminal portions 210. Each other-side conductive adhesive portion 221 is formed at a position spaced apart from a different one-side terminal portion 210 in the width direction of the solar cell 200. In this embodiment, the conductive adhesive portion is formed so as to be located within the area of ​​the terminal portion, but this is not limiting, and it is also possible to form the conductive adhesive portion so as to be partially protruding. However, from the viewpoint of more reliably preventing problems such as short circuits from occurring, it is preferable to form the conductive adhesive portion so as to be located within the area of ​​the terminal portion, as in this embodiment.

[0142] When the adhesive application process is completed, the solar cell 200 is transported from the adhesive application unit 3 to the adhesive inspection unit 4, where the adhesive inspection process is carried out. That is, an inspection device (not shown) performs a determination operation to determine whether the conductive adhesive has been applied correctly. Then, if it is determined that the conductive adhesive has been applied correctly, the solar cell 200 is transported to the cell placement unit 5, where the cell placement process is carried out.

[0143] The cell arrangement process is a process of arranging a plurality of solar cells 200, as shown in FIG. 36, and is a process of arranging the plurality of solar cells 200 side by side so that adjacent solar cells 200 partially overlap each other. In the cell arrangement step, as shown in Fig. 36, the first solar cell 200a and the third solar cell 200c are arranged so that a part of the third solar cell 200c overlaps a part of the first solar cell 200a. At this time, a part of the third solar cell 200c is positioned on the first protective tape 215 of the first solar cell 200a. Then, the four one-side conductive adhesive portions 220 (one-side terminal portions 210) of the first solar cell 200a and the four other-side conductive adhesive portions 221 of the third solar cell 200c are aligned in the arrangement direction of the solar cells 200.

[0144] Further, the second third solar cell 200c is arranged so that a part of the second third solar cell 200c overlaps a part of the first third solar cell 200c. At this time, a part of the second third solar cell 200c is positioned on the first protective tape 215 of the first third solar cell 200c. Then, the four one-side conductive adhesive parts 220 (one-side terminal parts 210) of the first third solar cell 200c and the four other-side conductive adhesive parts 221 of the second third solar cell 200c are arranged in the arrangement direction of the solar cells 200. Similarly, the third third solar cell 200c, the fourth third solar cell 200c, ... are arranged.

[0145] Then, the second solar cell 200b is arranged such that a portion of the second solar cell 200b overlaps a portion of the nth third solar cell 200c. At this time, a portion of the second solar cell 200b is positioned on the first protective tape 215 of the nth third solar cell 200c. Then, the four one-side conductive adhesive portions 220 (one-side terminal portions 210) of the nth third solar cell 200c and the four other-side conductive adhesive portions 221 of the second solar cell 200b are aligned in the alignment direction of the solar cells 200.

[0146] The number of the third solar cell 200c may be one or more (two or more), and n in the above-mentioned "nth cell" is a natural number equal to or greater than one. It is also possible to form a cell string by connecting the first solar cell 200a and the second solar cell 200b without providing the third solar cell 200c. In this case, a part of the second solar cell 200b is placed on a part of the first solar cell 200a. When the cell arrangement step is completed, a first in-progress cell string 228 is formed, as shown in Fig. 37. That is, the first in-progress cell string 228 is formed by arranging a plurality of solar cells 200 such that adjacent solar cells 200 partially overlap each other.

[0147] Next, a wiring installation step is performed in which the wiring member 235 is placed on the first in-progress cell string 228. In detail, the wiring installation step includes a wiring formation step in which the wiring member 235 is formed from the wiring material 26, and a taped wiring formation step in which the wiring member 235 is attached to the adhesive surface of the covering tape 240 to form a taped wiring member 243. The wiring installation step also includes a taped wiring transport step in which the wiring member 235 is transported to a predetermined position on the first in-progress cell string 228.

[0148] That is, in the wiring forming process, as shown in FIG. 38, the wiring material supplying device 10 performs a feeding operation to feed the tip side of the wiring material 26. At the same time, the clamping portion 35 of the first position regulating portion 31 of the position regulating device 11 is moved horizontally from the reference position to the separated position. That is, the first position regulating portion 31 is moved in a direction approaching the wiring material supplying device 10. Note that the direction approaching the wiring material supplying device 10 is also the direction away from the wiring transport preparation device 12 (see FIG. 3). At this time, the installation base 36 of the first position regulating part 31 is located below the supply opening 22b. That is, the installation base 36 is located below the portion of the supply opening 22b from which the wiring material 26 is discharged. In addition, there is a space between the tip end (the end on the wiring material supplying device 10 side) of the first position regulating part 31 and the wiring material supplying device 10, and the first position regulating part 31 is disposed at a position away from the wiring material supplying device 10.

[0149] Next, as shown in FIG. 39, a clamping operation is performed in which the clamping portion 35 of the first position restricting portion 31 clamps the tip side of the wiring material 26. That is, the first position restricting portion 31 approaches the wiring material supplying device 10, so that the tip side of the wiring material 26 is positioned on the installation table portion 36 of the first position restricting portion 31 (see FIG. 39(b)). In this state, the first clamping piece 40 and the second clamping piece 41 are moved in a direction approaching each other to clamp the tip side of the wiring material 26 (see FIG. 39(b)). That is, the wiring material 26 is clamped in the width direction. At this time, the tip side of the wiring material 26 is below the two intermediate protruding portions 45b and is located between the bottom surfaces (inner surfaces) of the two lower recessed portions 45c. In this way, the tip side of the wiring material 26 is disposed in the clamping space portion 48, and the movement of the wiring material 26 in the width direction and the up-down direction is restricted.

[0150] 40(a), while the tip side of the wiring material 26 is clamped in this manner, the blade portion 23a of the wiring material supplying device 10 is moved downward to cut a portion of the wiring material 26 a predetermined distance away from the tip end toward the base end. This causes the tip side portion of the wiring material 26 to be cut and separated from the wound body, and a wiring member 235 is formed. In this embodiment, the movement of the tip end portion of the wiring material 26 is restricted, and the occurrence of unintended positional displacement or deformation during cutting can be prevented (suppressed).

[0151] At this time, the wiring member 235 formed by the clamping portion 35 of the first position restricting portion 31 is clamped (held). In detail, the wiring member 235 is clamped by the clamping portion 35 at one end in the length direction, and is supported in a cantilevered state. That is, the wiring member 235 is positioned at one end in the length direction above the installation base portion 36, and the other end is positioned further toward the tip side than the tip side of the clamping portion 35 and the installation base portion 36. That is, the other end of the wiring member 235 in the length direction is disposed at a position that does not overlap with the clamping portion 35 and the installation base portion 36 in a plan view, and becomes a protruding portion that protrudes from the first position restricting portion 31. At this time, the other end of the wiring member 235 in the length direction is positioned slightly lower than the one end due to its own weight. That is, the wiring member 235 is in a state of extending downward while being slightly curved toward the end on the free end side.

[0152] 40(a), the clamping portion 35 of the first position regulating portion 31 is moved horizontally from the separated position to the reference position. That is, the first position regulating portion 31 is moved in a direction away from the wiring material supplying apparatus 10. This completes the wiring forming process. That is, the wiring forming process of this embodiment includes a step of forming the wiring member 235 in the vicinity of the wiring material supplying apparatus 10 and a step of transporting the formed wiring member 235. 40(b) and 41(a), the base 30a is rotated 180 degrees in plan view about the vertical axis L1 to rotate the first position regulating unit 31 and the second position regulating unit 32, thereby executing an operation of switching the positions of the first position regulating unit 31 and the second position regulating unit 32. As a result, the first position regulating unit 31 holding the wiring member 235 moves in a direction away from the wiring material supplying device 10.

[0153] Then, as shown in FIG. 41(b), the first position regulating unit 31, which has clamped the wiring member 235, is moved horizontally from the reference position to the separated position. That is, the first position regulating unit 31 is further moved in a direction approaching the wiring transport preparation device 12 (a direction moving away from the wiring material supply device 10, see FIG. 3). Then, a wiring transfer process (described in detail later) is performed in which the wiring member 235 is transferred from the position regulating unit 11 to the wiring material supply device 12. Also, before or after, or in parallel, the second position regulating unit 32 performs the above-mentioned wiring formation process. That is, the second position regulating unit 32 approaches the wiring material supply device 10 and forms the wiring member 235 in the same manner as described above. Then, the second position regulating unit 32 is moved to the reference position while the clamping unit 35 of the second position regulating unit 32 is clamping the wiring member 235.

[0154] Next, the wiring transfer process will be described. In the wiring transfer process, as shown in Fig. 41(b), the first position regulating unit 31 clamping the wiring member 235 moves in a direction approaching the wiring transport preparation device 12. Then, as shown in Figs. 42 and 43(a), the free end side portion of the wiring member 235 clamped by the first position regulating unit 31 is positioned below the nozzle portion 65 of the wiring holder 61 (see Fig. 43(a)). At this time, there is a space between the tip end of the first position regulating part 31 (the end on the wiring transport preparation device 12 side, and the end on the first unit forming piece part 60 side) and the first unit forming piece part 60, and the first position regulating part 31 is disposed at a position away from the first unit forming piece part 60. Also, the wiring member 235 is in a state where the free end side portion is placed on the first unit forming piece part 60 and the base end side portion is placed on the installation base part 36. Also, the middle part of the wiring member 235 is disposed above the gap between the first unit forming piece part 60 and the installation base part 36.

[0155] In this state, the first position restricting portion 31 moves the first clamping piece 40 and the second clamping piece 41 (see FIG. 42) in a direction away from each other. That is, the clamping portion 35 is shifted from the clamping position to the clamp release position. Around the same time, as shown in FIG. 43(b), the wiring holding portion 61 executes a wiring suction operation in which a part (a part on the free end side) of the wiring member 235 is sucked from the suction port of the nozzle portion 65. As a result, the wiring member 235 is held by the wiring holding portion 61. That is, the part of the wiring member 235 on one end side in the length direction becomes the part clamped by the first position restricting portion 31, and the part of the part on the other end side in the length direction on the opposite side becomes the part held by the wiring holding portion 61. 43(c), the clamping portion 35 of the first position regulating portion 31 is moved horizontally from the separated position to the reference position. That is, the first position regulating portion 31 is moved in a direction away from the wiring transport preparation device 12. This completes the wiring transfer process.

[0156] In this embodiment, when the wiring holding part 61 holds the wiring member 235, it performs an operation of holding a specified portion of the wiring member 235 (hereinafter also referred to as a portion to be held). To explain in detail, the wiring holding part 61 sets a position a predetermined length away in the longitudinal direction of the wiring member 235 from the cutting position of the wiring member 235 as the portion to be held, and sucks and holds the portion to be held. Note that the "cutting position of the wiring member 235" referred to here is the position cut when the wiring member 235 is formed from the wiring material 26, and is the end part of the wiring member 235 on the free end side in a state where it is clamped (held) by the first position regulating part 31.

[0157] At this time, the cell string manufacturing apparatus 1 (wiring transport preparation device 12) executes an operation of calculating the position coordinates of the holding target portion based on the cutting position of the wiring member 235. That is, the cell string manufacturing apparatus 1 (wiring transport preparation device 12) has an imaging means such as a camera (not shown). Then, by photographing the wiring member 235, the cutting position of the wiring member 235 is identified, and the position coordinates of the holding target portion are calculated based on the identified cutting position. Then, as described above, when the wiring member 235 is held by the wiring holding part 61, the holding target portion of the wiring member 235 is controlled to be disposed at a specified position below the nozzle part 65, and the holding target portion is sucked and held. That is, the control device of the cell string manufacturing apparatus 1 (wiring transport preparation device 12) functions as a coordinate recognition unit that calculates the position coordinates of the holding target portion.

[0158] In this embodiment, the wiring transport preparation device 12 has four wiring holding parts 61. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 42 and Fig. 44, the wiring transfer process is repeated and the wiring member 235 is transferred to each of the four wiring holding parts 61.

[0159] To explain in more detail, in this embodiment, as described above, in parallel with the execution of the wiring transfer process in which the first position regulating unit 31 transfers the wiring member 235, the second position regulating unit 32 executes the wiring formation process in which the wiring member 235 is formed and transported. After the first position regulating unit 31 completes the wiring transfer step and the second position regulating unit 32 completes the wiring formation step, the base unit 30a is rotated (see FIG. 6) to switch the positions of the first position regulating unit 31 and the second position regulating unit 32. Then, the second position regulating unit 32 executes the wiring transfer step, and the first position regulating unit 31 executes a second wiring formation step.

[0160] At this time, the first unit forming unit 55, which has been waiting at the first receiving position (see FIG. 42) in the above-described wiring transfer process by the first position regulating unit 31, moves to the second receiving position (see FIG. 44(a)) after receiving the wiring member 235. Then, in the same procedure as the above-described wiring transfer process of transferring the wiring member 235 from the first position regulating unit 31 to the first wiring holding unit 61a, a wiring transfer process of transferring the wiring member 235 from the second position regulating unit 32 to the second wiring holding unit 61b is executed.

[0161] Similarly, the first unit forming unit 55 moves from the second receiving position (see FIG. 44(a)) to the third receiving position (see FIG. 44(b)), and a wiring handover step is performed in which the first position regulating unit 31 hands over the wiring member 235 to the third wiring holding unit 61c. That is, the wiring handover step is performed a second time by the first position regulating unit 31. Furthermore, the first unit forming unit 55 moves from the third receiving position (see FIG. 44(b)) to the fourth receiving position (see FIG. 44(c)), and a wiring transfer step is performed in which the wiring member 235 is transferred from the second position restricting unit 32 to the fourth wiring holding unit 61d. That is, the wiring transfer step is performed by the second position restricting unit 32 for the second time.

[0162] That is, the first position regulating unit 31 and the second position regulating unit 32 execute different steps of the wiring forming step and the wiring transfer step. The wiring forming step by the first position regulating unit 31 and the wiring forming step by the second position regulating unit 32 are executed alternately, and the wiring transfer step by the first position regulating unit 31 and the wiring transfer step by the second position regulating unit 32 are executed alternately. In this embodiment, the wiring member 235 is transferred in the order of the first wiring holding portion 61a, the second wiring holding portion 61b, the third wiring holding portion 61c, and the fourth wiring holding portion 61d, but this is not limited to the above and the order in which the wiring member 235 is transferred may be changed as appropriate.

[0163] When the wiring members 235 are delivered to each of the plurality of wiring holders 61 (when the plurality of wiring delivery steps are completed), a wiring transport preparation step is performed. The wiring transport preparation step is a step of transporting a plurality of wiring members 235 in advance to a predetermined position (pre-transport standby position) to enable transport by the transport device 15 (wiring transport step) described later.

[0164] In the wiring transport preparation step, with the plurality of wiring holders 61 each holding a wiring member 235, as shown in FIG. 45(a), the first-unit forming unit 55 moves to the transport preparation position. At this time, a part of each wiring member 235 is located between the wiring holding portion 61 and the first platform forming piece portion 60, another part is located at the boundary portion between the first platform forming piece portion 60 and the second platform forming piece portion 67 in a plan view, and still another part is located above the second platform forming piece portion 67. In other words, the wiring member 235 is disposed on the platform-shaped portion formed by the first platform forming piece portion 60 and the second platform forming piece portion 67, straddling the boundary portion between the first platform forming piece portion 60 and the second platform forming piece portion 67. At this time, a part of the wiring member 235 that is located above the second platform forming piece portion 67 is disposed on the platform-side suction portion 68.

[0165] Then, as shown in FIG. 45(b) and FIG. 45(c), each wiring holder 61 stops the suction operation and is put into a state where the wiring holder 61 does not hold the wiring member 235 (the holding state is released and the state is changed to a non-holding state). Before and after this, the suction operation is performed by the base side suction portion 68. By putting the wiring holder 61 into a non-holding state, the wiring member 235 falls by its own weight and is placed on the platform portion formed by the first platform forming piece portion 60 and the second platform forming piece portion 67. At this time, the wiring member 235 is placed on the first platform forming piece portion 60 and the second platform forming piece portion 67 while straddling the boundary portion between them. Also, by performing the suction operation by the base side suction portion 68 at this time, unintended positional deviation of the wiring member 235 can be prevented.

[0166] As a result of the above, each of the multiple (four) wiring members 235 is transported to the pre-transport standby position, which is a position where it is lifted during transportation by the transport device 15 (wiring transport process), and is placed at the pre-transport standby position. In addition, in the wire transport preparation step of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 46, the wire transport preparation device 12 performs a holder retraction operation after putting the plurality of wire holders 61 into the non-holding state.

[0167] The wiring transport preparation device 12 performs a swinging motion of each wiring holder 61 so that the wiring holder 61 and the wiring member 235 do not overlap in a plan view, and the wiring holder 61 is not positioned around the wiring member 235 in a plan view. This allows the wiring holder 61 to improve the freedom of movement of the hand unit 115 when the transport device 15 lifts and transports the wiring member 235 (described in detail later), without restricting the movement of the hand unit 115. In addition, it allows the hand unit 115 to improve the freedom of the holding position of the wiring member 235 when lifting the wiring member 235. This makes it easier to transport the wiring member 235 by the transport device 15. Then, the holding portion retracting operation is completed, and the wiring transport preparation process is completed.

[0168] Next, the tape-attached wiring forming process will be described. In the tape-attached wiring formation process, as shown in Fig. 47, a wiring transport process is performed in which wiring member 235 is transported onto wire mounting member 77 of wire mounting device 13 (see Fig. 14) and wiring member 235 is placed on wire mounting member 77 (see Fig. 47). Then, two covering tapes 240 are transported onto wire mounting member 77 and a tape transport process is performed in which tape-attached wiring member 243 is formed on wire mounting member 77 (see Fig. 48). The covering tape 240 is an adhesive tape having an adhesive surface on one side (one main surface) in the thickness direction and a non-adhesive surface on the other side (the other main surface), and is a heat-resistant tape having heat resistance and an insulating tape having insulating properties. The covering tape 240 is supplied and conveyed by the tape conveyance preparation device 14 and the conveyance device 15 (adhesive tape supply device).

[0169] More specifically, in the wiring transport step, the hand unit 115 (see FIG. 24) of the transport device 15 is brought close to the wiring member 235 arranged in the pre-transport standby position by the wiring transport preparation step. Then, as shown in FIG. 49, the wiring member 235 is held by the hand unit 115 of the transport device 15, and is lifted up and transported onto the wiring placement member 77. That is, a part of the wiring member 235 is fitted into the holding groove 125 of the hand unit 115. Then, a suction operation is performed by the transport-side wiring suction unit 127 to suck the wiring member 235 toward the holding groove 125. This brings the hand unit 115 into a state where it is holding the wiring member 235. In this embodiment, a central portion (middle portion) including the central part of the wiring member 235 is fitted into the holding groove 125, and the central portion is sucked and held (adsorbed). That is, the hand unit 115 holds the central portion of the wiring member 235 in the longitudinal direction. Then, by moving the hand unit 115 upward while it is holding the wiring member 235, the wiring member 235 is lifted, and as the hand unit 115 moves, the wiring member 235 is transported. When lifting and transporting the wiring member 235 by the hand portion 115, it is preferable to stop the suction action by the base side suction portion 68 (see Figure 46) of the above-mentioned wiring transport preparation device 12 before or after the action of fitting a part of the wiring member 235 into the holding groove portion 125.

[0170] Then, the transport device 15 transports the wiring member 235 onto the wire placement member 77, stops the suction operation of the transport-side wire suction portion 127, and puts the wiring member 235 in a state where it is not held (the holding state is released and transitions to a non-holding state). As a result, as shown in Fig. 47(a), the wiring member 235 is almost exactly fitted into a part of the groove portion of the wire placement portion 80 of the wire placement member 77.

[0171] In this embodiment, a suction operation is performed by the wiring suction portion 82 (see FIG. 47(a)) of the wiring placement member 77 around the time when the suction operation by the transport-side wiring suction portion 127 is stopped. This makes it possible to suck the wiring member 235 downward, to reliably fit the wiring member 235 into the groove portion of the wiring placement portion 80, and also to prevent the wiring member 235 from being unintentionally displaced.

[0172] In the tape transport step, the covering tape 240 is formed by performing the tape supply operation described above, as shown in Fig. 50(a), and the covering tape 240 is moved to a transport standby position. The "transport standby position" here refers to a position (see Fig. 51) where the covering tape 240 is placed when it is lifted by the transport device 15, and is a position above the peeling auxiliary member 105 (auxiliary member main body 105a). In detail, it is a position above the peeling auxiliary member 105 (auxiliary member main body 105a) that is in a lift standby position (see Fig. 50(b)).

[0173] That is, when the covering tape 240 is placed in the transport standby position, the base end portion of the covering tape 240 is placed in a position overlapping the supply table portion 94b in a plan view, and the free end portion of the supply table portion 94b does not overlap the supply table portion 94b. Furthermore, a part of the free end portion of the covering tape 240 overlaps the peeling auxiliary member 105 (auxiliary member main body 105a) in a plan view.

[0174] Then, with the covering tape 240 placed in the transport standby position, as shown in Figures 50(b) and 50(c), a tape lifting operation is executed to move the peeling assistant member 105 from the lifting standby position to the lifting position. 50(c), the free end portion of the covering tape 240 is pushed up by the peeling assistant member 105 and moves upward. That is, the upper portion (including the upper end portion) of the assistant member main body 105a moves above the lower end of the supply table portion 94b. As a result, the free end portion of the covering tape 240 moves upward.

[0175] At this time, when the part of the covering tape 240 that is stuck to the supply table portion 94b is the adhered part, the upper part of the auxiliary member main body 105a rises to a position higher than the lowest part of the adhered part of the covering tape 240. As a result, the free side part of the covering tape 240 is lifted, and the periphery of the auxiliary member main body 105a becomes inclined. That is, the covering tape 240 is in a tilted state around the portion located on the upper side of the auxiliary member main body 105a while a portion of the covering tape 240 remains attached to the supply table portion 94b, which makes the covering tape 240 easily peelable from the supply table portion 94b.

[0176] 51, the hand unit 115 of the conveying device 15 is brought close to the covering tape 240 with the free end portion lifted, and the base end portion of the covering tape 240 is held by the conveying-side tape holding unit 122. That is, the conveying-side tape holding unit 122 is brought into contact with the base end portion of the covering tape 240, and a suction operation is performed by the tape suction unit 130, so that the conveying-side tape holding unit 122 holds the covering tape 240.

[0177] At this time, the conveying-side tape holding portion 122 adsorbs the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the covering tape 240, i.e., a position away from both ends. The conveying-side tape holding portion 122 also adsorbs the covering tape 240 in a direction perpendicular to the first inclined surface portion 98 to which the base end portion of the covering tape 240 is affixed. Furthermore, the conveying-side tape holding portion 122 adsorbs a portion of the covering tape 240 from the boundary portion between the supply table portion 94b and the peeling auxiliary member 105 (auxiliary member main body 105a) in a plan view toward the center in the radial direction relative to the vertical axis L2. For these reasons, the conveying-side tape holding portion 122 can hold the covering tape 240 more firmly and reliably.

[0178] Then, the conveying device 15 conveys the covering tape 240 onto the wire mounting member 77 and arranges it so that a portion of it overlaps the wiring member 235, as shown in Fig. 48(a). Then, the suction operation of the conveying-side tape holding section 122 is stopped and the wiring member 235 is no longer being held (the holding state is released and the state transitions to the non-holding state).

[0179] That is, when the conveying device 15 conveys the covering tape 240, the conveying-side tape holding portion 122 comes into contact with the main surface of the covering tape 240 opposite the adhesive surface, and sucks the main surface of the covering tape 240 opposite the adhesive surface. Then, when the covering tape 240 is placed on the wire mounting member 77, the covering tape 240 is placed so that the adhesive surface of the covering tape 240 is located on the lower side. Therefore, when the covering tape 240 is arranged so that a portion of it overlaps the wiring member 235, a portion of the adhesive surface of the covering tape 240 is adhered to the wiring member 235. In other words, the tape-attached wiring forming process includes an adhesion process of adhering a portion of the adhesive surface of the covering tape 240 to the wiring member 235. More specifically, the adhesive surface of the covering tape 240 is brought into contact with a portion near the end of the wiring member 235 in the longitudinal direction. The portion near the end of the wiring member 235 in the longitudinal direction here refers to a range up to a portion a predetermined length (predetermined distance) away from the end, and the "predetermined length" is 1 mm or more and 5 mm or less.

[0180] At this time, a part of the covering tape 240 is located above the tape support part 81, and the other part is placed on the wire placement part 80 located therebetween. In addition, a part of the part located above the tape support part 81 is located above the injection hole part 85. Here, in the portion of the covering tape 240 located above the tape support portion 81, the tops (apexes) of the protrusions 81a come into contact with the lower surface (adhesive surface) of the covering tape 240. That is, the tops (upper end portions) of the multiple protrusions 81a become the contact portions with the covering tape 240. Therefore, the groove bottom of the groove forming portion 80b on which the wiring member 235 is placed becomes a portion located lower than the contact portion with the covering tape 240. In detail, when the portion of the underside of the covering tape 240 that is in contact with the wiring member 235 is defined as the contact area, and the area that is not in contact with the wiring member 235 is defined as the non-contact area, the top of the protrusion 81a is in line contact or point contact with 70 percent or more of the non-contact area.

[0181] As shown in FIG. 48(a), when forming a tape-attached wiring member 243 composed of a plurality (two) covering tapes 240 and one wiring member 235, the tape transport step may be repeated a plurality (twice). Alternatively, the two covering tapes 240 may be simultaneously conveyed onto the wire placement member 77, and the adhesive surfaces of the two covering tapes 240 may be simultaneously brought into contact with the portions near both ends of the wiring member 235 (the portion on one end side and the portion on the other end side). That is, after one of the conveying side tape holding parts 122 holds one of the covering tapes 240, the hand part 115 is not moved to the periphery of the wire placement member 77, but the supply table part 94b is rotated, and the other covering tape 240 is lifted by the peeling assistant member 105. Then, the other covering tape 240 is held by the other conveying side tape holding part 122, so that the two covering tapes 240 are held by the hand part 115. Then, the hand part 115 is moved toward the wire placement member 77, and the two covering tapes 240 are conveyed. At this time, it is also possible to simultaneously lift up multiple (two) covering tapes 240 by the peeling auxiliary member 105 (pushing up the free end portions), and to simultaneously suck and hold the two covering tapes 240 by the two transport side tape holding portions 122.

[0182] Furthermore, when forming a tape-attached wiring member 243 composed of two covering tapes 240 and one wiring member 235, one covering tape 240 is in a state where a part of one end side in the length direction of the wiring member 235 overlaps in the up-down direction and is in contact (contact state). Furthermore, one covering tape 240 is in a state where a part of the part located above the tape support portion 81 is disposed above the multiple first injection hole portions 85a. On the other hand, the other covering tape 240 is in a state where a part of the other end side in the length direction of the wiring member 235 overlaps in the up-down direction and is in contact (contact state). Furthermore, one covering tape 240 is in a state where a part of the part located above the tape support portion 81 is disposed above the multiple second injection hole portions 85b. As a result of the above, a tape-attached wiring member 243 is formed on the wiring mounting member 77.

[0183] Next, the taped wiring transport process will be described. In the tape-attached wiring transport step, the tape-attached wiring member 243 is transported from above the wire mounting device 13 (above the wire mounting member 77, see FIG. 14) to a predetermined position above the first in-process cell string 228 (see FIG. 37). Specifically, the hand unit 115 (see FIG. 24) of the transport device 15 is brought close to the taped wiring member 243 on the wire mounting member 77. Then, as shown in FIG. 52, the taped wiring member 243 is held by the hand unit 115 of the transport device 15, lifted up, and transported above the first in-progress cell string 228 (above the solar cell 200).

[0184] 52, a part of the wiring member 235 is fitted into the holding groove 125 of the hand unit 115, and then the suction operation is performed by the conveying-side wiring suction unit 127. Also, the conveying-side tape holding unit 122 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the covering tape 240 (the main surface opposite to the adhesive surface), and the suction operation is performed by the tape suction unit 130. As a result, the hand unit 115 is in a state of holding the taped wiring member 243. At this time, a central portion (middle portion) including a central portion of the wiring member 235 is fitted into the holding groove portion 125, and the central portion is sucked and held (adsorbed). In this embodiment, in each of the above-mentioned wiring transport step and taped wiring transport step, the hand portion 115 holds the central portion of the wiring member 235. In the taped wiring transport step, a portion of the wiring member 235 located between the two covering tapes 240 in a plan view is adsorbed and held. Then, by moving the hand unit 115 upward while still holding the tape-attached wiring member 243, the tape-attached wiring member 243 is lifted, and as the hand unit 115 moves, the tape-attached wiring member 243 is transported.

[0185] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 52, when a tape-attached wiring member 243 having a plurality (two) covering tapes 240 is transported, the plurality of covering tapes 240 are sucked by different transport-side tape holding portions 122, respectively. When transporting a tape-attached wiring member 243 consisting of two covering tapes 240 and one wiring member 235, as shown in Figure 52, each of three points arranged in a straight line at intervals is suctioned and held.

[0186] The transport device 15 transports the tape-attached wiring member 243 above the first in-progress cell string 228, and stops the suction operation by the transport-side wiring suction unit 127 and the suction operation by the tape suction unit 130. This causes the transport device 15 to enter a state in which it is not holding the tape-attached wiring member 243 (it releases the holding state and transitions to a non-holding state). As a result, as shown in Fig. 53, the tape-attached wiring member 243 is placed at a predetermined position above the first in-progress cell string 228 (see Fig. 37), and the second in-progress cell string 248 is formed.

[0187] More specifically, in this embodiment, as the tape-attached wiring member 243, a first tape-attached wiring member 243a having two (a plurality of) covering tapes 240 and a second tape-attached wiring member 243b having one covering tape 240 are formed.

[0188] The first wiring member 243a with tape is disposed such that one end portion in the length direction of the wiring member 235 is located on one of the adjacent solar cells 200, and the other end portion is located on the other solar cell 200. At this time, one end portion in the length direction of the wiring member 235 is located above the terminal portion (one of the one-side terminal portion 210 or the other-side terminal portion 211, see FIG. 37) of one solar cell 200, and the other end portion is located above the terminal portion (the other of the one-side terminal portion 210 or the other-side terminal portion 211, see FIG. 37) of the other solar cell 200 (described in detail later). At this time, one end portion in the length direction of the first wiring member 243a with tape is disposed above the overlapping portion between the adjacent solar cells 200. The wiring member 235 is one of the adjacent solar cell 200 in plan view, and a part of the wiring member 235 extends across an edge portion of the solar cell 200 located above the overlapping portion.

[0189] The second wiring member 243b with tape is disposed with one end portion in the length direction of the wiring member 235 located above the first solar cell 200a and the second solar cell 200b. At this time, the one end portion in the length direction of the second wiring member 243b with tape is disposed in a position below the covering tape 240 and above the terminal portions (one-side conductive adhesive portion 220, other-side terminal portion 211). In this embodiment, more specifically, the second wiring member 243b with tape, a portion of which is disposed above the first solar cell 200a, is disposed so that a portion of the wiring member 235 is located above the other-side terminal portion 211 (see FIG. 37, one side of the one-side terminal portion 210 and the other-side terminal portion 211). Also, the second wiring member 243b with tape, a portion of which is disposed above the second solar cell 200b, is disposed so that a portion of the wiring member 235 is located above the one-side terminal portion 210 (see FIG. 37, the other side of the one-side terminal portion 210 and the other-side terminal portion 211).

[0190] At this time, by placing the tape-attached wiring member 243, the adhesive surface of the covering tape 240 of the tape-attached wiring member 243 is adhered to the upper surface of the solar cell 200. In other words, the wiring member 235 of the tape-attached wiring member 243 is attached (fixed) onto the solar cell 200 by the covering tape 240. Furthermore, at this time, the wiring member 235 is interposed between the covering tape 240 and the conductive adhesive portion (one-side conductive adhesive portion 220, the other-side conductive adhesive portion 221) as shown in Figures 37 and 53. That is, the wiring installation step includes an attachment step of attaching the wiring member 235 and the covering tape 240 onto the terminal portion (one-side conductive adhesive portion 220, the other-side terminal portion 211) of the solar cell 200 so that the wiring member 235 is interposed between the covering tape 240 and the conductive adhesive portion.

[0191] As described above, the tape-attached wiring member 243 is placed on the first in-progress cell string 228 to form the second in-progress cell string 248, thereby completing the wiring installation process of placing the wiring member 235 on the first in-progress cell string 228. Then, the formed second in-process cell string 248 is transported to the heat treatment unit 7, where a heating step is carried out.

[0192] The heating process is a process of heating the conductive adhesive portions (one-side conductive adhesive portion 220 and the other-side conductive adhesive portion 221, not shown in FIG. 54, see FIG. 37) on the underside of the covering tape 240 of the second in-process cell string 248, as shown in FIG. 54.

[0193] That is, the second in-process cell string 248 is placed on the transport platform 141a, and the portion of the second in-process cell string 248 to be heated is positioned below the heating member 150. In this state, the second in-process cell string 248 is moved below the heating member 150 (see FIG. 31), and the heating member 150 heats the portion to be heated.

[0194] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 54(b), one heating member 150 heats four covering tapes 240 spaced apart along the length of the solar cell 200 and their surroundings, as well as the portions located below each covering tape 240 (such as conductive adhesive portions, not shown in FIG. 54). As a result, a part of the wiring member 235 in the tape-attached wiring member 243 and the terminal portion (one-side conductive adhesive portion 220, the other-side terminal portion 211, see Figure 37 etc., not shown in Figure 54) located below it are adhered via the conductive adhesive portion.

[0195] That is, in this embodiment, when the portion to be heated is heated, the lower surface of the heating member 150 comes into contact with the covering tape 240, and the heating member 150 presses the covering tape 240 downward. As a result, the wiring member 235 is pressed toward the terminal portion (downward) via the covering tape 240. Also, the conductive adhesive of the conductive adhesive parts (one-side conductive adhesive part 220, other-side conductive adhesive part 221) is heated and solidified. That is, the conductive adhesive parts of the cell string 201 (see FIG. 2) are made of conductive adhesive that has been heated and solidified.

[0196] Here, in this embodiment, as described above, the heating member mounting part 162 and the heating member 150 are mounted in a state in which they can be moved (lifted) upward from their natural state (see FIG. 30). Furthermore, as described above, the heating member mounting part 162 and the heating member 150 are mounted to the hanging rod part 161 so as to be swingable in the direction along the first direction X1 (see FIG. 32) and swingable in the direction along the second direction Y1 (see FIG. 33). From the above, when the support member 160 moves downward and the hanging rod portion 161, the heating member attachment portion 162, and the heating member 150 all move downward so that the underside of the heating member 150 comes into contact with the part to be heated, the heating member 150 slides on the part to be heated. That is, the heating member 150 slides and changes its position in response to minute irregularities, etc., in the upper part of the second in-process cell string 248, and comes into contact with the part to be heated in an appropriate position. This enables appropriate heating without uneven heating, etc. When heating of all the conductive adhesive parts of the second in-progress cell string 248 is completed and one or two parts of each wiring member 235 are connected to the terminal parts via the conductive adhesive parts, the heating step is completed. Then, the second in-progress cell string 248 is transported to the connection reinforcement section 8, and the connection reinforcement step is carried out.

[0197] The connection reinforcement step is a step of attaching a connection reinforcement tape 250 to a second in-progress cell string 248 (see FIG. 53) as shown in Fig. 2. Then, when the connection reinforcement step is completed, the cell string 201 is formed. The connecting reinforcement tape 250 is an adhesive tape having an adhesive surface on one side portion (one main surface) in the thickness direction and a non-adhesive surface on the other side portion (the other main surface), and is a heat-resistant tape having heat resistance and an insulating tape having insulating properties.

[0198] In detail, the connection reinforcing tape 250 is attached to a portion extending from the upper surface of one of the adjacent solar cell 200 to the upper surface of the other of the adjacent solar cell 200. In other words, a portion of the connection reinforcing tape 250 is located above the overlapping portion of the adjacent solar cell 200, and a portion of the connection reinforcing tape 250 is located in a portion adjacent to the overlapping portion of the solar cell 200 in the width direction of the solar cell 200. At this time, the connecting reinforcement tape 250 is arranged at a position away from the first tape-attached wiring member 243a in the longitudinal direction of the solar cell 200, and in this embodiment, is arranged at a position between the two first tape-attached wiring members 243a in a planar view.

[0199] 55 , in the cell string 201 of the present embodiment, the covering tape 240 covers a part of the wiring member 235, a part of the other-side terminal portion 211, and the other-side conductive adhesive portion 221. That is, in a plan view, the covering tape 240 overlaps a part of the wiring member 235, a part of the other-side terminal portion 211, and the other-side conductive adhesive portion 221, and the covering tape 240 overlaps the entire other-side conductive adhesive portion 221. That is, in plan view, the area of ​​the covering tape 240 is larger than the area of ​​the other-side conductive adhesive portion 221 , and the covering tape 240 covers the entire other-side conductive adhesive portion 221 . Furthermore, in addition to the adhesion provided by the other-side conductive adhesive portion 221, the covering tape 240 fixes a portion of the wiring member 235 to the solar cell 200, so that the wiring member 235 can be fixed more firmly.

[0200] In the cell string 201 of the present embodiment, the covering tape 240 covers the one-side terminal portion 210 and the one-side conductive adhesive portion 220. That is, in a plan view, the covering tape 240 overlaps a part of the wiring member 235, the one-side terminal portion 210, and the one-side conductive adhesive portion 220. In detail, the covering tape 240 overlaps the entire one-side terminal portion 210 and the entire one-side conductive adhesive portion 220. That is, in a plan view, the area of ​​the covering tape 240 is larger than the area of ​​the one-side terminal portion 210 and larger than the area of ​​the one-side conductive adhesive portion 220, and the covering tape 240 covers the entire one-side terminal portion 210 and the entire one-side conductive adhesive portion 220. In addition, in this embodiment, in a plan view, the area of ​​the one-side terminal portion 210 is larger than the area of ​​the one-side conductive adhesive portion 220, and the one-side conductive adhesive portion 220 covers a part of the one-side terminal portion 210. At this time, in a plan view, the entire one-side conductive adhesive portion 220 is contained within the one-side terminal portion 210 (is inside the outer periphery of the one-side terminal portion 210), and the one-side terminal portion 210 overlaps the entire one-side conductive adhesive portion 220.

[0201] Here, the covering tape 240 covering the first terminal portion 210a and the first one-side adhesive portion 220a is referred to as the first covering tape 240a (first heat-resistant tape), and the wiring member 235, a portion of which overlaps with the first terminal portion 210a and the first one-side adhesive portion 220a, is referred to as the first wiring member 235a. In addition, the covering tape 240 covering the second terminal portion 210b and the second one-sided adhesive portion 220b is referred to as a second covering tape 240b (second heat-resistant tape), and the wiring member 235, a portion of which overlaps with the second terminal portion 210b and the second one-sided adhesive portion 220b, is referred to as a second wiring member 235b. That is, the two covering tapes 240 adjacent to each other in the length direction of the solar cell 200 (left and right direction in FIG. 55) and arranged with a gap therebetween are referred to as a first covering tape 240a and a second covering tape 240b. Also, the two wiring members 235 adjacent to each other in the length direction of the solar cell 200 (left and right direction in FIG. 55) and arranged with a gap therebetween are referred to as a first wiring member 235a and a second wiring member 235b.

[0202] At this time, the first one-side adhesive portion 220a, when viewed in a plane, entirely overlaps the first covering tape 240a, and the second one-side adhesive portion 220b, when viewed in a plane, entirely overlaps the second covering tape 240b. Moreover, the first one-side adhesive portion 220a and the first terminal portion 210a have an area smaller than that of the first covering tape 240a when viewed in a plan view. Moreover, the entirety of each of them is contained within the first covering tape 240a (each is entirely inside the outer periphery of the first covering tape 240a). Similarly, the second one-side adhesive portion 220b and the second terminal portion 210b have an area smaller than that of the second covering tape 240b when viewed in a plan view. Moreover, the entirety of each of them is contained within the second covering tape 240b (each is entirely inside the outer periphery of the second covering tape 240b).

[0203] 16, the wire mounting member 77 of the embodiment described above has a structure in which the tape support portion 81 has a plurality of protrusions 81a, and the ejection hole portion 85 of the lifting auxiliary portion 83 is a circular hole in a plan view. However, the wire mounting member is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 56, the wire placement member 600 may be formed without the protrusions 81a and the lifting auxiliary parts 83, with the upper surface of the tape support part 601 being a non-adhesive surface, so that the average height of the upper surface of the tape support part 601 is substantially the same as the upper surface of the groove edge part 80a. Note that "substantially the same height" here refers to a height that allows an error of several percent in addition to the completely same height. In this case, the upper surface of the protrusions 81a is a non-adhesive surface similar to the outer surface of the auxiliary member main body 105a described above. In other words, the upper surface of the protrusions 81a is a surface formed by forming fine irregularities on the surface and filling the recesses with resin so as to leave the irregular shape.

[0204] 57, the wire placement portion 603 may be a wire placement member 600 (see FIG. 56) having such a tape support portion 601, to which a lifting auxiliary portion 605 is provided. The lifting auxiliary portion 605 may be provided with one ejection hole portion 606 instead of the multiple (three) ejection hole portions 85. In other words, the first lifting auxiliary portion 605a and the second lifting auxiliary portion 605b may be formed by the ejection hole portion 606 formed in each of the tape support portions 601. The ejection hole portion 606 is an elongated hole extending in the length direction of the wire placement member 600 in a plan view. Further, in the first lifting assistant part 605a and the second lifting assistant part 605b, in addition to forming the ejection hole part 606 in each of the tape support parts 601, a structure in which the ejection hole part 606 is formed in only one of the tape support parts 601 is also conceivable.

[0205] Also, as shown in FIG. 58, a wire mounting member 610 may have a plurality of (six) ejection holes 613 arranged in a matrix on a tape support portion 611, instead of the plurality of (three) ejection holes 85 arranged in a row. That is, the first lifting assistant part 612a and the second lifting assistant part 612b may be formed by a group of injection hole parts 613 formed one by one in each tape support part 611. And, one group of injection hole parts 613 may be formed by arranging a plurality of injection hole parts 613 in a matrix shape (3 rows and 2 columns in FIG. 58) in a plan view. In addition, in one group of the injection holes 613, the injection holes may be arranged in one or more rows (matrix), or the injection holes may be arranged irregularly.

[0206] 59, the wire placement member 620 may be structured so that the tape support portion 621 is vertically movable. Also, the lifting auxiliary portion 83 does not necessarily have to be provided. In other words, the tape support portion 621 can be changed between a placement position in which the apex of the protrusion portion 81a is positioned upward and a lifting position in which it is positioned downward, and transitions to the lifting position by moving the tape support portion 621 downward from the placement position. In the above-mentioned taped wiring forming step, when the covering tape 240 is placed on the wiring placement member 77, it is preferable to set the covering tape 240 to the placement posture before placing the covering tape 240. In addition, in the taped wiring transport step, when the taped wiring member 243 is transported, it is preferable to shift to the lifting posture before lifting the taped wiring member 243 (or during lifting). [Explanation of symbols]

[0207] 10 Wiring material supply device 11 Position regulating device 12 Wiring transport preparation device 15 Conveying device (conveying member) 22 Supply device main body (wiring supply section) 23 Cutting device (cutting section) 30 Regulating device main body (main body) 31 First position regulation part (position regulation part) 32 Second position regulation part (position regulation part) 55 First forming section (transport section) 121 Carrying side wiring holding part (lifting part, wiring suction part) 235 Wiring Materials

Claims

1. a wiring supply unit that supplies a wiring member having freedom in a width direction and a length direction in a length direction; a position restricting portion that restricts movement of the wiring member supplied from the wiring supply portion in a width direction by clamping the wiring member in a width direction; a cutting section that is located between the wiring supply section and the position restriction section, that straddles from the wiring supply section to the position restriction section, and that cuts the wiring member in a state where a tip end side of the wiring member in a supply direction is restricted by the position restriction section; a coordinate recognition unit that calculates position coordinates based on the cutting position by the cutting unit; the wiring member cutting device further comprising a conveying section which holds the wiring member cut by the cutting section based on the position coordinates and conveys the wiring member to a predetermined position;

2. the cutting portion and the position regulating portion are spaced apart from each other in a supply direction of the wiring member, The wiring member processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the wiring member cut by the cutting portion has a protruding portion protruding from the position restricting portion.

3. the position regulating unit is movable from the cutting unit side toward the conveying unit side, The wiring member processing device according to claim 2 , wherein the position regulating unit is moved toward the transport unit while holding the wiring member cut by the cutting unit.

4. The position restricting device has a main body and a plurality of position restricting parts, The plurality of position restriction portions are arranged side by side in a circumferential direction around the main body portion, The wiring member processing device according to claim 3 , wherein the position regulating portion moves from the cutting portion side toward the transport portion side by rotation of the main body portion.

5. 5. The wiring member processing device according to claim 2, wherein the transport section transports the wiring member to a predetermined position while holding the protruding portion of the wiring member held by the position regulating section.

6. 2. The wiring member processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a lifting section that is capable of sucking the wiring member transported to the predetermined position by the transport section and lifting it upward.

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