Method for manufacturing solar cell module and solar cell module

Abstract

To provide a technology that enables easier and stabler manufacturing of a solar cell module.SOLUTION: A method for manufacturing a solar cell module, in which solar cells are disposed between a light-receiving side substrate and a back-side substrate, and a sealing material is disposed between the solar cells and the back-side substrate, the solar cell module having a partition wall portion facing a wiring outlet hole in the back-side substrate, includes a wiring take-out step of passing an outlet wiring portion electrically connected to the solar cell from the inside of the back-side substrate through the wiring outlet hole to protrude to the outside of the back-side substrate at a position overlapping with the partition wall portion in a plan view, a spacer arrangement step of interposing a spacer portion between a protruding portion of the outlet wiring portion from the wiring outlet hole and the back surface of the back-side substrate, and a lamination step of pressing and heating the back-side substrate and the protruding portion of the outlet wiring portion from the back-side substrate side to harden the sealing material.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a solar cell module and a solar cell module. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, solar cell modules formed by attaching a terminal box to a solar cell panel formed by laminating a glass substrate, an encapsulant sheet, a solar cell string, an encapsulant sheet, and a back sheet in this order have been widely known. In such solar cell modules, a portion of the output wiring is enclosed within the solar cell panel together with the solar cell string, and the output wiring extends from the inside of the solar cell panel to an external terminal box through an output through-hole formed in the back sheet. For example, there is one such solar cell module disclosed in Patent Document 1.

[0003] In the solar cell module of Patent Document 1, the solar cell panel has a plate-shaped or film-shaped extracting wiring (extraction-side wiring member), and the extracting wiring is bent and extends inside the extracting through-hole in the thickness direction of the solar cell panel. That is, the extracting wiring has a rising portion that rises in the thickness direction of the solar cell panel, and a bent portion is located on the base end side of the rising portion, and the corner of the bent portion is at a 90-degree angle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-080413 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, bending the output wiring so as to form the above-mentioned corners is time-consuming, and there has been a desire to manufacture solar cell modules more easily. Therefore, the inventors conceived of forming a curved shape at the rising portion of the extracting wire without forming a corner at the rising portion of the extracting wire. However, when actually manufacturing such a solar cell panel, the extracting wire may be damaged, making stable manufacturing difficult.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a solar cell module that allows for easier and more stable manufacturing of the solar cell module. Another object of the present invention is to provide a solar cell module that allows for easier and more stable manufacturing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the inventors conducted extensive research and found that when the rising portion of the extracting wire is curved, the extracting wire is damaged when a laminate, which is a work-in-progress of a solar cell panel, is subjected to a lamination process in which the laminate is heated and pressed. In addition, we discovered that damage to the output wiring during the lamination process can be suppressed (prevented) by increasing the bending radius of the rising portion (reducing the curvature of the curved surface of the curved and extending portion). One aspect of the present invention, which is provided based on such findings and aims to solve the above-described problems, is a method for manufacturing a solar cell module, in which solar cells are disposed between a light-receiving-side substrate and a back-side substrate, and a sealing material is disposed between the solar cells and the back-side substrate, and which has a partition wall portion facing a wiring outlet hole in the back-side substrate, the method including: a wiring outlet step of passing an extracting wiring portion electrically connected to the solar cell from the inside of the back-side substrate through the wiring outlet hole to protrude to the outside of the back-side substrate at a position overlapping with the partition wall portion in a plan view; a spacer arrangement step of interposing a spacer portion between the protruding portion of the extracting wiring portion from the wiring outlet hole and the back surface of the back-side substrate; and a lamination step of pressing and heating the back-side substrate and the protruding portion of the extracting wiring portion from the back-side substrate side to harden the sealing material.

[0008] The method for manufacturing a solar cell module of this aspect includes a lamination process in which the sealing material is cured with the spacer portion interposed between the protruding portion of the extracting wiring portion and the back surface of the back substrate. Therefore, even if the protruding portion of the extracting wiring portion has a curved shape, when the protruding portion of the extracting wiring portion is heated and pressed during the lamination process, an excessive load is not applied to the curved portion, and damage to the extracting wiring can be suppressed (prevented).

[0009] Preferably, the spacer portion has a portion that supports the protruding portion so that, when viewed in a plane, the distance of the wiring extraction portion from the rear surface side substrate increases from the inside to the outside with the wiring extraction hole as the reference.

[0010] According to this aspect, even if the protruding portion of the extraction wiring portion is curved, excessive load is not applied to the curved portion arranged near the wiring extraction hole, and damage to the extraction wiring portion can be more reliably suppressed (prevented).

[0011] Preferably, in the wiring extraction step, the extraction wiring portion is caused to protrude in an arc shape from the inside of the rear surface side substrate toward the outside of the rear surface side substrate.

[0012] The above-described aspect makes it possible to manufacture a solar cell module without processing the extracting wiring portion more than necessary, thereby facilitating the manufacture.

[0013] Another aspect of the present invention is a solar cell module including a solar cell disposed between a light-receiving-side substrate and a back-side substrate, and a sealing material disposed between the solar cell and the back-side substrate, wherein the back-side substrate has a wiring outlet hole, and includes an outlet wiring portion electrically connected to the solar cell, and a partition portion facing the wiring outlet hole, and the outlet wiring portion has a rising portion that rises so as to pass through the wiring outlet hole at a position that overlaps with the partition portion and an edge of the wiring outlet hole in a plan view, and the rising portion has a rising angle that is acute with respect to the partition portion.

[0014] The solar cell module of this aspect can be manufactured easily and stably without processing the output wiring portion more than necessary.

[0015] Preferably, the extracting wiring portion is in surface contact with the partition wall portion at a position where the extracting wiring portion overlaps the partition wall portion in a plan view, the portion extending from the solar cell side to the rising portion.

[0016] With this configuration, it is possible to more reliably suppress (prevent) unintended damage to the extracting wiring portion or the portion that overlaps with the extracting wiring portion in plan view during the manufacture of the solar cell module. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] The present invention can provide a method for manufacturing a solar cell module that allows for easier and more stable manufacturing of the solar cell module, and can also provide a solar cell module that can be manufactured more easily and stably. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are perspective views showing a solar cell module according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A shows the state seen from the light-receiving surface side, and FIG. 1B shows the state seen from the back surface side. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the structure of the solar cell module of FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is an explanatory view showing the process of manufacturing the solar cell module of FIG. 1, showing a state in which a spacer member is arranged on the back surface of the laminate in a spacer arrangement step. FIG. [Figure 4] 5A to 5C are explanatory views showing how the spacer member of FIG. 4 is manufactured, and is manufactured in the order of (a) to (c). [Figure 5] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the laminate and spacer member of FIG. 3, with some hatching omitted for ease of understanding. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0020] 1, the solar cell module 1 of this embodiment has a solar cell panel 2 and a terminal box 3, and the terminal box 3 is attached to the back side of the solar cell panel 2. In other words, the solar cell module 1 has a first main surface, which is the front surface, as the light receiving surface, and the terminal box 3 is provided on a second main surface, which is the back surface.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the solar cell panel 2 is formed by stacking, from the light-receiving surface side, a light-transmitting substrate 10 (light-receiving side substrate), a first sealing material 11 (sealing material), a solar cell string 12, a second sealing material 13 (sealing material), a partition member 14 (partition portion), an output wiring 15 (output wiring portion), a third sealing material 16 (sealing material), and a rear surface protection member 17 (rear surface side substrate).

[0022] The light-transmitting substrate 10 is a plate-like or sheet-like member having insulating properties and light-transmitting properties, and in this embodiment, a glass substrate (windshield) is used.

[0023] The first sealing material 11, the second sealing material 13, and the third sealing material 16 are sealing materials that seal the solar cell string 12 and part of the extraction wiring 15, and are resin sheets made from a resin containing a thermoplastic resin, such as a resin whose main ingredient is ethylene vinyl acetate resin.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1(a), the solar cell string 12 has a plurality of solar cells 25 (solar cells), two end electrode wires 26, a plurality of intermediate electrode wires 27, and two extracting side wiring members 28. The end electrode wires 26, the intermediate electrode wires 27, and the extracting side wiring member 28 are conductive wiring members that extend in a flat, strip-like or sheet-like shape. For convenience of drawing, reference numerals are assigned to only some of the solar cells 25, and the reference numerals for the others are omitted. Also, for other members, when the same member is depicted multiple times, some of the reference numerals are omitted as necessary.

[0025] More specifically, the solar cell string 12 has a plurality of solar cell rows 35, each of which has a plurality of (three in FIG. 1 ) solar cells 25 connected in series via interconnectors (wiring members). These solar cell rows 35 are connected in series via intermediate electrode wiring 27. Furthermore, one of the two end electrode wirings 26 is connected to the positive electrode side end of the solar cell row 35 located most positive, and the other is connected to the negative electrode side end of the solar cell row 35 located most negative. In other words, the solar cell string 12 has a group of solar cell 25 formed by connecting a plurality of solar cell 25 in series, and one of the two end electrode wirings 26 is a positive electrode side wiring connected to the positive electrode side end of the group of solar cell 25. Furthermore, the other of the two end electrode wirings 26 is a negative electrode side wiring connected to the negative electrode side end of the group of solar cell 25. The two output side wiring members 28 are wiring members connected to different end electrode wirings 26. In other words, one of the two output side wiring members 28 is a positive electrode side wiring and the other is a negative electrode side wiring.

[0026] 2, the partition member 14 is a plate-like or sheet-like member having a generally planar shape, at least a portion of whose surface is formed from an insulating material, and in this embodiment, an insulating resin sheet is used. That is, the partition member 14 has a partition first main surface portion 14a which is the main surface on the back surface side, and a partition second main surface portion 14b which is the main surface on the light-receiving surface side. As described above, the partition member 14 may be a resin sheet, or may be a member obtained by applying a surface treatment to a metal plate member to form an insulating plating layer.

[0027] The partition member 14 is a member that has higher heat resistance (higher thermal distortion temperature) than the first sealing material 11, the second sealing material 13, and the third sealing material 16. More specifically, in the laminating process described below, the first sealing material 11, the second sealing material 13, and the third sealing material 16 melt, while the partition member 14 is a member that does not undergo thermal deformation (does not melt and deform), or does not substantially undergo thermal deformation. Note that the phrase "substantially does not undergo thermal deformation" here includes not only a member that does not undergo thermal deformation at all, but also a member that undergoes slight thermal deformation to the extent that its function is not impaired (a member that undergoes deformation by a few percent). In other words, the partition member 14 has heat resistance at laminating temperatures (for example, 120 to 150 degrees Celsius).

[0028] The output wiring 15 is a wiring member extending in a flat belt-like or sheet-like shape, and as shown in FIG. 2, has a horizontally extending portion 15a, a rising portion 15b, and an output side portion 15c.

[0029] The horizontally extending portion 15a is a portion whose thickness direction is the same as that of the solar cell module 1 and extends in a direction parallel to (orthogonal to) the light-receiving surface of the solar cell module 1. That is, one main surface of the horizontally extending portion 15a (the lower surface in FIG. 5) serves as a contact surface portion 38 that comes into surface contact with the surface of the installation location (the partition wall first main surface portion 14a in this embodiment).

[0030] The rising portion 15b is continuous with one side end of the horizontal extension portion 15a in the extension direction, rises in the thickness direction of the solar cell module 1, and is located between the horizontal extension portion 15a and the extraction side portion 15c. The rising portion 15b is a portion that extends while curving toward the first extension direction as it moves toward the outside in the thickness direction of the solar cell module 1 (upward in Figure 5), when the extension direction of the horizontal extension portion 15a and the direction toward the rising portion 15b (the direction from left to right in the case of the extracting wiring 15 on the left side of Figure 5) is defined as the first extension direction.

[0031] The rising portion 15b of this embodiment is formed so that the rising angle θ1 (see FIG. 5) is an acute angle. As shown in Figure 5, when a virtual horizontal plane extending in a plane including the surface on which the horizontal extension portion 15a is placed (the partition wall first main surface portion 14a) is defined as a first plane D1, and a tangent plane to an arbitrary point P on the outer surface of the rising portion 15b (the surface connected to the contact surface portion 38) is defined as a second plane D2, the "rising angle θ1 of the rising portion 15b" is defined as the angle between the first plane D1 and the second plane D2.

[0032] The solar cell module 1 of this embodiment has four extracting wires 15, as shown in Fig. 2. Although detailed illustration of the four extracting wires 15 is omitted, one is connected to one of two extracting side wiring members 28 (see Fig. 1), and the other is connected to the other of the two extracting side wiring members 28 (see Fig. 1). One of the remaining two is connected to one intermediate electrode wiring 27 (see Fig. 1), and the other is connected to another intermediate electrode wiring 27 (see Fig. 1) different from the one intermediate electrode wiring 27.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 2, rear surface protection member 17 is an insulating plate-like or sheet-like member, and can be a back glass or a back sheet, and in this embodiment, a back glass is used. Although not particularly limited, the solar cell module 1 of this embodiment is a monofacial solar cell module 1 that employs a back surface protection member 17 with low total light transmittance. That is, the total light transmittance of the back surface protection member 17 in this embodiment is 0 to 30 percent, which is lower than that of the light-transmitting substrate 10.

[0034] The back surface protection member 17 has a plurality of wiring outlet holes 40. The plurality of wiring outlet holes 40 are through holes that penetrate the back surface protection member 17 in the thickness direction, and in this embodiment, each of the wiring outlet holes 40 is composed of two wiring outlet holes 40: a first wiring outlet hole 40a and a second wiring outlet hole 40b.

[0035] Next, a method for manufacturing the solar cell module 1 of this embodiment will be described.

[0036] The method for manufacturing the solar cell module 1 of this embodiment mainly includes a solar cell panel manufacturing step of manufacturing the solar cell panel 2 and a terminal box attachment step of attaching the terminal box 3 to the manufactured solar cell panel 2.

[0037] The solar cell panel manufacturing process includes a wiring extraction process, a spacer placement process, and a lamination process, which are carried out in this order.

[0038] (Wiring extraction process) 2 and 3, in the wiring extraction step, a stacked body 42 (see FIG. 3) is formed in which a first sealing material 11, a solar cell string 12, a second sealing material 13, a partition member 14, an extracting wiring 15, a third sealing material 16, and a back surface protection member 17 are stacked on a light-transmitting substrate 10. At this time, a part of the extracting wiring 15 is extracted from the inside of the stacked body 42 (between the light-transmitting substrate 10 and the back surface protection member 17) through the wire extraction hole 40 of the back surface protection member 17 to the outside, so that a part of the extracting wiring 15 protrudes outside the back surface protection member 17. In other words, the part of the extracting side portion 15c of the extracting wiring 15 that is located outside the wire extraction hole 40 becomes the protruding part of the extracting wiring 15. When forming the laminate 42, the extracting wiring 15 and the end electrode wiring 26 and intermediate electrode wiring 27 of the solar cell string 12 are bonded together via a conductive adhesive or the like, so that they are electrically connected. In the wiring extraction step of this embodiment, two extraction wires 15 are extracted from each of the two wiring extraction holes 40. As shown in Fig. 5, the two output wires 15 (paired output wires 15) output from the same wire output hole 40 have horizontally extending portions 15a that extend toward each other. The rising portions 15b extend toward each other while facing outward (upward in Fig. 5) in the thickness direction of the solar cell module 1. The output side portions 15c extend away from each other while curved.

[0039] (Spacer placement process) The spacer placement process is a process that is performed after the wiring extraction process, and is a process of arranging a spacer member 45 (spacer portion) between the back surface (top surface in Figure 3) of the back surface protection member 17 and the extraction wiring 15, as shown in Figure 3.

[0040] The spacer member 45 has two main members 45a and an auxiliary member 45b. As shown in Fig. 4, the main member 45a and the auxiliary member 45b are both formed by folding an insulating sheet-like member, have heat resistance, and are not thermally deformed (not melted and deformed) or are not substantially thermally deformed during the lamination process. That is, the spacer member 45 has heat resistance at the lamination temperature.

[0041] The main body member 45a is a member formed by folding a substantially rectangular sheet member, and extends in a substantially "V" shape. That is, as shown in Fig. 4(b), the main body member 45a has a first forming piece portion 50, a second forming piece portion 51, and a boundary portion 52, and the first forming piece portion 50 and the second forming piece portion 51 are continuous via the boundary portion 52 and extend in two from the boundary portion 52. That is, in a natural state (a state in which no external force is applied), the main body member 45a has a spacer gap portion 55 between the first forming piece portion 50 and the second forming piece portion 51. Furthermore, the main body member 45a has an elastic force (elastic restoring force), and by pressing one of the first forming piece portion 50 and the second forming piece portion 51 in a direction toward the other, the main body member 45a is deformed so that the free ends of the first forming piece portion 50 and the second forming piece portion 51 are brought into close proximity to each other (detailed illustration is omitted). Then, by releasing the pressing force, the main body member 45a returns to its original shape. The main body member 45a is not limited to having a folded portion extending in an approximately "V" shape, but may also have, for example, an approximately "U" shape in which the boundary portion 52 and its vicinity extend while curving.

[0042] The auxiliary member 45b is a member formed by folding back a sheet member extending in an annular shape (a square annular shape in this embodiment), and has two inserting body portions 60 and a base end side portion 61, which are integrally formed, as shown in Fig. 4(b). In detail, the two inserting body portions 60 are each extended from the base end side portion 61. The inserting body 60 has an auxiliary-side first forming piece 60a, an auxiliary-side second forming piece 60b, and an auxiliary-side boundary 60c. The auxiliary-side first forming piece 60a and the auxiliary-side second forming piece 60b are continuous via the auxiliary-side boundary 60c and extend in two directions from the auxiliary-side boundary 60c. The inserting body 60 has elasticity (elastic restoring force) similar to the main body member 45a described above.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 4, the spacer member 45 is formed by inserting separate insert portions 60 into the spacer gaps 55 of the two main body members 45a.

[0044] 5, the spacer member 45 has two main body members 45a arranged on the light-receiving surface sides of different extracting wires 15. That is, one main body member 45a is arranged so that at least a portion thereof is located between one extracting wire 15 and the outer surface (upper surface in FIG. 5) of the back surface protection member 17. The other main body member 45a is arranged so that at least a portion thereof is located between the extracting wire 15 drawn out from the same wire extraction hole 40 as the one extracting wire 15 and the outer surface of the back surface protection member 17. As a result, a part of the output wiring 15 (a part of the output side portion 15c) is supported from below by the main body member 45a (the first forming piece portion 50).

[0045] The main body member 45a is arranged so that one of the first forming piece portion 50 and the second forming piece portion 51 (the second forming piece portion 51 in this embodiment) is in surface contact with the outer surface of the back surface protection member 17. The other of the first forming piece portion 50 and the second forming piece portion 51 (the first forming piece portion 50 in this embodiment) extends in an oblique direction so as to move outward from the outer surface of the back surface protection member 17 as it moves away from the boundary portion 52. Here, the main body member 45a is arranged so that the boundary portion 52 is closer to the wiring outlet hole 40 (the center of the wiring outlet hole 40) than the free ends of the first forming piece portion 50 and the second forming piece portion 51. Therefore, the other of the first forming piece 50 and the second forming piece 51 extends in a direction (upward in FIG. 5) away from the outer surface of the back surface protection member 17 in the thickness direction of the solar cell module 1 as it moves away from the wiring outlet hole 40 in a direction (left-right direction in FIG. 5) parallel to the light receiving surface and back surface of the solar cell module 1. A portion of the output wiring 15 is supported so that the vertical distance from the back surface protection member 17 increases as it moves outward from the wiring outlet hole 40 in a direction parallel to the light receiving surface and back surface of the solar cell module 1.

[0046] (Lamination process) The laminating process is a process performed after the spacer arranging process. The laminate 42, which includes the spacer member 45 disposed between the rear surface of the rear surface protection member 17 and the extracting wiring 15, is pressed and heated to harden the sealing material. In the laminating process of this embodiment, the object is heated in a vacuum state, and then a press pressure is applied in the thickness direction of the laminate 42 to apply pressure. When applying the press pressure, the laminate 42 is positioned with either the light-transmitting substrate 10 or the rear surface protection member 17 (the rear surface protection member 17 in this embodiment) facing upward. Then, with the spacer member 45 (main body member 45a) interposed between the protruding portion of the extracting wiring 15 and the rear surface of the rear surface protection member 17, a member pressing the laminate 42 is brought into surface contact with either the light-transmitting substrate 10 or the rear surface protection member 17, and pressing is performed (detailed illustration omitted).

[0047] As described above, the manufacturing method of the solar cell module 1 of this embodiment performs the laminating step with the spacer member 45 disposed, and then presses the laminate 42 and the spacer member 45. Therefore, the arc-shaped portion of the extracting wire 15, which is formed by the rising portion 15b and the extracting side portion 15c, can maintain a certain arc size or greater when pressed. In other words, the manufacturing method of the solar cell module 1 of this embodiment can reduce the curvature of the curved surface of the curved portion when pressed. This reduces the load on the middle portion of the arc-shaped portion of the extracting wire 15 and on the boundary and vicinity of the rising portion 15b of the horizontally extending portion 15a during the laminating step, thereby suppressing (preventing) unintended damage to the extracting wire 15. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1. Solar cell module 10 Transparent substrate (light receiving side substrate) 11 First sealing material (sealing material) 13 Second sealing material (sealing material) 14 Partition member (partition part) 15 Exit wiring (exit wiring part) 15b Standing part 16 Third sealing material (sealing material) 17 Back surface protection material (back surface board) 25 Solar cell (solar cell) 40 Wiring exit hole 45 Spacer member (spacer part)

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a solar cell module, comprising: a solar cell disposed between a light-receiving-side substrate and a back-side substrate; a sealing material disposed between the solar cell and the back-side substrate; and a partition wall portion facing a wiring outlet hole of the back-side substrate, a wiring extraction step of passing an extraction wiring portion electrically connected to the solar cell from the inside of the back surface side substrate through the wiring extraction hole to protrude to the outside of the back surface side substrate at a position overlapping with the partition wall portion in a plan view; a spacer arranging step of interposing a spacer portion between a protruding portion of the output wiring portion from the wiring output hole and the rear surface of the rear surface side substrate; A method for manufacturing a solar cell module, comprising a laminating step of pressing and heating the rear surface side substrate and the protruding portion of the extracting wiring portion from the rear surface side substrate side to harden the sealing material.

2. 2. The method for manufacturing a solar cell module according to claim 1, wherein the spacer portion has a portion that supports the protruding portion so that, when viewed in a plane, the distance from the rear surface side substrate of the extraction wiring portion increases from the inside to the outside relative to the wiring extraction hole.

3. The method for manufacturing a solar cell module according to claim 1 , wherein in the wiring extraction step, the extraction wiring portion is caused to extend in an arc shape from an inner side of the back surface side substrate toward an outer side of the back surface side substrate.

4. A solar cell module including a solar cell disposed between a light-receiving-side substrate and a rear-side substrate, and a sealing material disposed between the solar cell and the rear-side substrate, the rear substrate has a wiring outlet hole, an extracting wiring portion electrically connected to the solar cell; and a partition wall portion facing the wiring extracting hole; the extracting wiring portion has a rising portion that rises and passes through the wiring extracting hole at a position that overlaps with the partition wall portion and an edge portion of the wiring extracting hole in a plan view, The solar cell module, wherein the rising portion has a rising angle that is an acute angle with respect to the partition wall portion.

5. The solar cell module according to claim 4 , wherein the extracting wiring portion is in surface contact with the partition wall portion at a position where the extracting wiring portion overlaps the partition wall portion in a plan view, from the solar cell side to the rising portion.

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