Solar cell panel

Abstract

To provide a solar cell panel which has few bubbles remaining inside the solar cell module and is easily deformable.SOLUTION: An exterior body 10 encapsulating a solar cell 4 includes a surface protection layer 12 that protects a surface (light-receiving surface) on the light incident side of the solar cell 4, a back surface protection layer 14 that protects the back surface opposite the light incident side of the solar cell 4, and an end intermediate layer 16 that is located between the surface protection layer 12 and the back surface protection layer 14 around (outer periphery) the end of the solar cell 4, and the end intermediate layer 16 includes at least a metal layer 16B and an amorphous resin layer 16A made of a thermoplastic resin that contains more amorphous portions than crystalline portions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a solar panel. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a solar cell panel having a frame-shaped metal frame made of a metal such as aluminum as a frame body (hereinafter also referred to as an outer frame or exterior body) that holds the end (outer periphery) of the solar cell module. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-107400 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The solar cell panel described in Patent Document 1 has problems such as difficulty in deformation due to the use of a metal frame as the outer frame, and difficulty in degassing by vacuum sealing, resulting in air bubbles remaining inside the solar cell module.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an object to provide a solar cell panel that has few bubbles remaining inside the solar cell module and that is easily deformable. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the solar cell panel of the present invention is a solar cell panel comprising a solar cell and an exterior body that encapsulates the solar cell, wherein the exterior body comprises a surface protective layer that protects the surface on the light incident side of the solar cell, a back protective layer that protects the back side of the solar cell opposite the light incident side, and an edge intermediate layer that is located between the surface protective layer and the back protective layer around the edge of the solar cell, and the edge intermediate layer is formed by stacking at least a metal layer and an amorphous resin layer made of a thermoplastic resin that contains more amorphous portions than crystalline portions in the light incident direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a solar cell panel which can be degassed by vacuum sealing, has few air bubbles remaining inside the solar cell module, and is easily deformable. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a solar cell panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is an enlarged top view of a main part of a solar cell panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3A] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another example (part 1) of the end structure of the solar cell panel according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3B] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of another example (part 2) of the end structure of the solar cell panel according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of an example of a solar cell panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, identical elements or elements having identical functions are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted. Furthermore, the dimensional ratios in the drawings may differ from those in reality.

[0010] 1 and 2 are an enlarged cross-sectional view and a top view, respectively, of a main part of a solar cell panel according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] The solar cell panel 1 according to this embodiment is an in-vehicle solar cell panel that is attached to the roof of a vehicle, for example. However, the solar cell panel 1 according to this embodiment can also be attached to and used on places other than the roof of a vehicle, such as the roof of a house or a solar power generation device.

[0012] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a solar cell panel 1 according to this embodiment is configured to include a solar cell module 2 and an exterior body 10.

[0013] The solar cell module 2 comprises a plurality of solar cell cells (also called photoelectric conversion elements or photovoltaic elements) 4 arranged in a predetermined pattern (e.g., a grid pattern) between a front protective layer 12 and a back protective layer 14 that constitute the exterior body 10 described below, and an encapsulant layer 6 that seals the plurality of solar cell cells 4 inside.

[0014] The solar cell 4 is a basic unit of a solar cell, either a solar cell element itself or a unit made up of multiple solar cell elements. The solar cell 4 is made up of various existing solar cell elements, such as perovskite (PVK), monocrystalline silicon (Si), polycrystalline silicon (Si), amorphous silicon (Si), III-V compounds such as GaAs and InP, II-VI compounds such as CdTe and CdS, CuInGaSe2 (CIGS), dye-sensitized, organic thin film, quantum dot, HIT (heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer), compound semiconductor, and thin-film silicon (Si). The solar cell elements 4 are connected to each other by lead wires (not shown) to obtain a predetermined rated output from a single module, and power is output from the solar cell module 2 via lead wires (not shown). The encapsulant layer 6 that encapsulates the multiple solar cell elements 4 is made of a transparent resin that allows light, such as sunlight, to pass through, such as ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), polyvinyl butyral (PVB), ionomer resin, or polyolefin.

[0015] For ease of explanation, the main surface of the solar cell module 2 on the light incident side (opposite the mounting object 50 side) may be referred to as the front surface or light receiving surface, and the main surface on the opposite side from the light incident side (towards the mounting object 50) may be referred to as the back surface. In addition, as the material for forming the exterior body 10, a metal formed in a layer or film shape may be referred to as a metal layer, a thermoplastic resin formed in a layer or film shape with fewer crystalline portions than amorphous portions (containing more amorphous portions than crystalline portions) may be referred to as an amorphous resin layer, and a thermoplastic resin formed in a layer or film shape with more crystalline portions than amorphous portions (containing more crystalline portions than amorphous portions) may be referred to as a crystalline resin layer.

[0016] The exterior body 10 includes a surface protective layer 12, a back protective layer 14, an end intermediate layer 16 located between the surface protective layer 12 and the back protective layer 14, and an end surface layer 18 located on the opposite side (light incident side) of the surface protective layer 12 from the end intermediate layer 16, in order to enclose (contain inside) each solar cell 4 sealed with a sealing material layer 6 in the solar cell module 2.

[0017] The surface protective layer 12 is disposed along the light-incident surface (light-receiving surface) of the solar cell module 2 to protect the light-incident surface (light-receiving surface) of the solar cell module 2 (more specifically, the surface of the encapsulant layer 6 surrounding the surface of each solar cell 4). The surface protective layer 12 is made of a plate-shaped transparent resin that is transmissive to light such as sunlight, such as polycarbonate (PC), acrylic resin, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The surface protective layer 12 can also be called a light-receiving surface transparent resin layer. The thickness of the surface protective layer 12 can be, for example, 0.08 to 15 mm.

[0018] The back surface protective layer 14 is disposed along the back surface of the solar cell module 2 opposite the light incident side to protect the back surface opposite the light incident side (more specifically, the back surface of the encapsulant layer 6 surrounding the back surface of each solar cell 4). In other words, the back surface protective layer 14 is disposed between the back surface of the solar cell module 2 opposite the light incident side and the surface of the mounting object 50 to support the solar cell module 2. In this embodiment, the back surface protective layer 14 is formed by stacking and bonding the amorphous resin layer 14A, the metal layer 14B, the amorphous resin layer 14C, and the crystalline resin layer 14D in this order from the light incident direction. That is, in the back surface protective layer 14, the metal layer 14B is stacked closer to the solar cell module 2 than the crystalline resin layer 14D, or the crystalline resin layer 14D is stacked closer to the mounting object 50 than the metal layer 14B.

[0019] Furthermore, the edge intermediate layer 16 is arranged (e.g., roughly in a frame shape) around the edge of the encapsulant layer 6 that surrounds the edge of each solar cell 4 constituting the solar cell module 2. This edge intermediate layer 16 may be arranged between the encapsulant layer 6 that is arranged between adjacent solar cells 4 and on the back surface protective layer 14, and the surface protective layer 12, as shown in the left half of Fig. 1, or may be arranged between the amorphous resin layer 15 that is arranged on the back surface protective layer 14, and the surface protective layer 12, as shown in the right half of Fig. 1. In this embodiment, like the above-mentioned back surface protective layer 14, this edge intermediate layer 16 is formed by laminating and bonding an amorphous resin layer 16A (in contact with the surface protective layer 12), a metal layer 16B, an amorphous resin layer 16C, and a crystalline resin layer 16D in this order from the light incident direction. That is, in this end intermediate layer 16, the metal layer 16B is laminated closer to the surface protective layer 12 than the crystalline resin layer 16D, or the crystalline resin layer 16D is laminated closer to the back protective layer 14 than the metal layer 16B.

[0020] Furthermore, the end surface layer 18 is arranged (for example, in a roughly frame shape) around the end of the sealing material layer 6 that surrounds the end of each solar cell 4 that constitutes the solar cell module 2. In this embodiment, the end surface layer 18 is formed by laminating and bonding, in the order of the crystalline resin layer 18D, the amorphous resin layer 18C, the metal layer 18B, and the amorphous resin layer 18A (in contact with the surface protective layer 12) from the light incident direction, opposite to the back surface protective layer 14 and end intermediate layer 16. That is, in the end surface layer 18, the metal layer 18B is laminated closer to the surface protective layer 12 than the crystalline resin layer 18D, or the crystalline resin layer 18D is laminated as the uppermost layer in the light incident direction.

[0021] The metal layers (14B, 16B, 18B) constituting the back surface protective layer 14, the end intermediate layer 16, and the end surface layer 18 are made of high-strength metals with gas barrier properties, such as aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), etc. The thickness of these metal layers (14B, 16B, 18B) can be, for example, 5 to 200 μm.

[0022] The crystalline resin layers (14D, 16D, 18D) constituting the back surface protective layer 14, edge intermediate layer 16, and edge surface layer 18 are made of thermoplastic resins with gas barrier properties, such as low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, polymethylpentene, polyvinyl alcohol, ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer, thermoplastic elastomer, polyacrylonitrile, polylactic acid, linear low-density polyethylene, polyamide 6, polyamide 66, polyacetal, polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide, polyether ether ketone, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, isotactic polystyrene, liquid crystal polymer, polyamide 610, polyamide 612, polyamide 11, polyamide 12, polyamide 46, polyamide MDX6, modified polyamide, and fluororesin. The thickness of the crystalline resin layers (14D, 16D, 18D) can be, for example, 10 to 250 μm.

[0023] In addition, the amorphous resin layers (14A, 14C, 16A, 16C, 18A, 18C) and amorphous resin layer 15 constituting the above-mentioned back surface protective layer 14, edge intermediate layer 16, and edge surface layer 18 are made of thermoplastic resins suitable for preventing metal oxidation and for thermocompression bonding, such as cellulose acetate, cellophane, cellulose nitrate, acetyl cellulose, ionomer, chlorinated polyethylene, ethylene-vinyl chloride copolymer, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl acetate, polystyrene, poly-α-methylstyrene, poly-para-vinylphenol, ABS resin, ABS / PVC alloy, ABS / polyester alloy, SAN resin, AES resin, AAS resin, methacrylic resin, cyclic olefin copolymer, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyallylamine, polyvinyl ether, petroleum resin, thermoplastic polyurethane resin, polyvinyl butyral, polycarbonate, PC / ABS alloy, PC / polyester alloy, polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyarylate, polyamideimide, polyetherimide, and polyimide. The thickness of the amorphous resin layers (14A, 14C, 16A, 16C, 18A, 18C) can be, for example, 10 to 170 μm.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 2, the end portion of the above-mentioned exterior body 10 (such as the end intermediate layer 16 located thereat) is sealed (multi-stage sealed) by thermocompression bonding at a plurality of locations (three locations in the illustrated embodiment) at predetermined intervals between the exterior and the interior (thermocompression bonded portions 19A, 19B, 19C). In other words, at the end portion of the above-mentioned exterior body 10, thermocompression bonded portions 19A, 19B, 19C and non-thermocompression bonded portions (portions not thermocompressed) are periodically and repeatedly formed between the exterior and the interior. This multi-stage sealing provides multiple protection against leaks.

[0025] The back surface protective layer 14 may be made of any material, such as resin or metal, as long as it can ensure rigidity, strength, moisture resistance, heat resistance, weather resistance, and the like.

[0026] In addition, instead of the above-mentioned laminated structure, the end intermediate layer 16 may be configured such that the crystalline resin layer 16D is replaced with a back surface protective resin layer 16E made of a resin that can form the back surface protective layer 14, as shown in FIG. 3A, or the amorphous resin layer 16C and the crystalline resin layer 16D may be omitted, leaving only the amorphous resin layer 16A and the metal layer 16B, as shown in FIG. 3B.

[0027] <Example> Next, a specific example of the solar cell panel 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0028] 4, the solar cell 4 of the solar cell module 2 is composed of tandem solar cell 4, in which a perovskite (PVK) solar cell 4a and a silicon (Si) solar cell 4b are stacked as a unit from the direction of light incidence. The encapsulant layers 6 that encapsulate the upper perovskite (PVK) solar cell 4a and the lower silicon (Si) solar cell 4b of this tandem solar cell 4 are made of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA).

[0029] The surface protection layer 12 of the exterior body 10 is formed from a transparent plate material made of polycarbonate (PC) and having a thickness of 4 mm.

[0030] The metal layers (14B, 16B, 18B) constituting the back surface protective layer 14, the end intermediate layer 16, and the end surface layer 18 are formed from a plate material made of aluminum (Al) and having a thickness of 7 μm.

[0031] The crystalline resin layers (14D, 16D, 18D) constituting the back surface protective layer 14, the end intermediate layer 16, and the end surface layer 18 are formed from a 12 μm thick plate material made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

[0032] In addition, the amorphous resin layers (14A, 16A, 18A) constituting the back surface protective layer 14, the end intermediate layer 16 and the end surface layer 18 are formed from plates (amorphous resin layers 14Aa, 16Aa, 18Aa) made of polyethylene (PE) and having a thickness of 60 μm and plates (amorphous resin layers 14Ab, 16Ab, 18Ab) made of 20 μm, and the amorphous resin layers (14C, 16C, 18C) constituting the back surface protective layer 14, the end intermediate layer 16 and the end surface layer 18 are formed from plates (amorphous resin layers 14C, 16C, 18C) made of polyethylene (PE) and having a thickness of 15 μm. That is, the thickness (20 μm) of the amorphous resin layers (14Ab, 16Ab, 18Ab) in contact with the metal layers (14B, 16B, 18B) and the thickness (15 μm) of the amorphous resin layers (14C, 16C, 18C) are formed thinner than the thickness (60 μm) of the amorphous resin layers (14Aa, 16Aa, 18Aa) that are not in contact with the metal layers (14B, 16B, 18B).

[0033] In other words, the back surface protection layer 14 is formed by stacking and bonding, in the order from the light incident direction, polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 14Aa) having a thickness of 60 μm, polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 14Ab) having a thickness of 20 μm, aluminum (Al) (metal layer 14B) having a thickness of 7 μm, polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 14C) having a thickness of 15 μm, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (crystalline resin layer 14D) having a thickness of 12 μm.

[0034] In addition, the end intermediate layer 16 is laminated and bonded in the following order from the light incident direction: polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 16Aa) having a thickness of 60 μm (in contact with the surface protective layer 12), polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 16Ab) having a thickness of 20 μm, aluminum (Al) (metal layer 16B) having a thickness of 7 μm, polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 16C) having a thickness of 15 μm, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (crystalline resin layer 16D) having a thickness of 12 μm.

[0035] In addition, the end surface layer 18 is laminated and bonded in the following order from the light incident direction: polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (crystalline resin layer 18D) having a thickness of 12 μm, polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 18C) having a thickness of 15 μm, aluminum (Al) (metal layer 18B) having a thickness of 7 μm, polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 18Ab) having a thickness of 20 μm, and polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 18Aa) having a thickness of 60 μm (in contact with the surface protection layer 12).

[0036] In other words, the solar cell panel 1 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is an in-vehicle solar cell panel 1 that includes a solar cell module 2 that includes a tandem solar cell 4 arranged opposite a surface protective layer (surface transparent resin layer) 12 and that includes a perovskite (PVK) solar cell 4a and a silicon (Si) solar cell 4b stacked together to form a unit, an encapsulant layer 6 that surrounds and seals the solar cell 4, and an exterior body 10 that encapsulates the tandem solar cell module 2.

[0037] The exterior body 10 is made up of, from the light incident direction, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (crystalline resin layer 18D) having a thickness of 12 μm, polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 218C) having a thickness of 15 μm, aluminum (Al) (metal layer 18B) having a thickness of 7 μm, polyethylene (PE) having a thickness of 20 μm and polyethylene (PE) having a thickness of 60 μm (amorphous resin layer 18Ab+amorphous resin layer 18Aa=amorphous resin layer 18A), polycarbonate (PC) having a thickness of 4 mm (surface protective layer 12), polyethylene (PE) having a thickness of 60 μm and polyethylene (PE) having a thickness of 20 μm (amorphous resin layer 16Aa+amorphous resin layer 16Ab=amorphous resin layer 16A), and aluminum (Al) having a thickness of 7 μm. The end portion (the peripheral portion of the solar cell 4) is joined in this order: aluminum (Al) (metal layer 16B), 15 μm-thick polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 16C), 12 μm-thick polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (crystalline resin layer 16D), sealing material layer 6 or amorphous resin layer 15, 60 μm-thick polyethylene (PE) and 20 μm-thick polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 14Aa+amorphous resin layer 14Ab=amorphous resin layer 14A), 7 μm-thick aluminum (Al) (metal layer 14B), 15 μm-thick polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 14C), and 12 μm-thick polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (crystalline resin layer 14D).

[0038] The exterior body 10 also has a central portion (part of the solar cell 4) made up of, in order from the light incident direction, a 4 mm thick polycarbonate (PC) (surface protective layer 12), a tandem solar cell module 2, a 60 μm thick polyethylene (PE) and a 20 μm thick polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 14Aa + amorphous resin layer 14Ab = amorphous resin layer 14A), a 7 μm thick aluminum (Al) (metal layer 14B), a 15 μm thick polyethylene (PE) (amorphous resin layer 14C), and a 12 μm thick polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (crystalline resin layer 14D).

[0039] In the above-described embodiment, in the back surface protection layer 14, the end intermediate layer 16, and the end surface layer 18, the thickness of the amorphous resin layers (14Ab, 14C, 16Ab, 16C, 18Ab, 18C) in contact with the metal layers (14B, 16B, 18B) is formed thinner than the thickness of the amorphous resin layers (14Aa, 16Aa, 18Aa) that are not in contact with the metal layers (14B, 16B, 18B).

[0040] The end of the above-mentioned exterior body 10 is sealed (multi-stage sealed) by thermocompression bonding at three locations with a predetermined distance between the exterior and interior.

[0041] As described above, the solar cell panel 1 of this embodiment is a solar cell panel 1 comprising a solar cell 4 and an exterior body 10 that encapsulates the solar cell 4, and the exterior body 10 comprises a surface protective layer 12 that protects the surface (light-receiving surface) on the light incident side of the solar cell 4, a back protective layer 14 that protects the back surface opposite the light incident side of the solar cell 4, and an end intermediate layer 16 that is located between the surface protective layer 12 and the back protective layer 14 around (outer periphery) the end of the solar cell 4, and the end intermediate layer 16 is formed by stacking at least a metal layer 16B and an amorphous resin layer 16A made of a thermoplastic resin that contains more amorphous portions than crystalline portions in the light incident direction. In detail, the end intermediate layer 16 is formed by stacking an amorphous resin layer 16A (crystalline < amorphous) (in contact with the surface protective layer 12), a metal layer 16B, an amorphous resin layer 16C (crystalline < amorphous), and a crystalline resin layer 16D (crystalline > amorphous) in the light incident direction.

[0042] According to this embodiment, by stacking the surface protective layer 12, the crystalline resin layer 16D (crystalline > amorphous), the metal layer 16B, and the amorphous resin layers 16A and 16C (crystalline < amorphous), it is possible to reduce the weight compared to when the exterior body is formed only from a metal such as aluminum, and it is also possible to degas by vacuum sealing, making it possible to provide a solar cell panel with fewer air bubbles remaining inside the solar cell module and that is easily deformable.

[0043] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1 solar cell panel, 2 solar cell module, 4 solar cell cell, 6 encapsulant layer, 10 exterior body, 12 surface protective layer, 14 back protective layer, 16 edge intermediate layer, 18 edge surface layer, 14A, 14C, 15, 16A, 16C, 18A, 18C amorphous resin layer, 14B, 16B, 18B metal layer, 14D, 16D, 18D crystalline resin layer

Claims

1. A solar cell panel including a solar cell and an exterior body that encloses the solar cell, The outer casing is a surface protection layer for protecting the surface of the solar cell on the light incident side; a back surface protection layer for protecting a back surface opposite to the light incident side of the solar cell; an edge intermediate layer located between the front surface protective layer and the back surface protective layer around the edge of the solar cell; The end intermediate layer is formed by stacking at least a metal layer and an amorphous resin layer made of a thermoplastic resin containing more amorphous portions than crystalline portions in the light incident direction.

2. 2. The solar cell panel according to claim 1, wherein the end intermediate layer is formed by stacking at least a metal layer, an amorphous resin layer made of a thermoplastic resin containing more amorphous portions than crystalline portions, and a crystalline resin layer made of a thermoplastic resin containing more crystalline portions than amorphous portions in the light incident direction, and the metal layer is stacked on the surface protective layer side of the crystalline resin layer, or the crystalline resin layer is stacked on the back surface protective layer side of the metal layer.

3. the exterior body further includes an end surface layer located on the opposite side of the surface protective layer from the end intermediate layer around the end of the solar cell, 2. The solar cell panel according to claim 1, wherein the end surface layer is formed by stacking, in the light incident direction, at least a metal layer, an amorphous resin layer made of a thermoplastic resin containing more amorphous portions than crystalline portions, and a crystalline resin layer made of a thermoplastic resin containing more crystalline portions than amorphous portions.

4. The solar cell panel according to claim 3, wherein the end surface layer has the metal layer laminated on the surface protection layer side of the crystalline resin layer, or the crystalline resin layer laminated as the uppermost layer in the light incident direction.

5. The solar cell panel according to claim 1 , wherein the end intermediate layer of the exterior body is sealed by thermocompression at a plurality of locations between the exterior and the interior at predetermined intervals.

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