JP2000022188A - Soldering system for tab lead - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small and inexpensive system for soldering a tab lead efficiently to the surface electrode of a solar cell while arranging accurately. SOLUTION: The soldering system comprises a stage 11 for feeding a solar cell (c) and a tab lead (t), a stage 12 for connecting the solar cell (c) and the tab lead (t) electrically, a mechanism 10 for carrying the solar cell (c) and the tab lead (t) from the supply stage 11 to the connection stage 12, and a mechanism 50 for holding the solar cell (c) and the tab lead (t) being carried by the carrying mechanism 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a soldering device for soldering a tab lead to a solar cell, which can be suitably used in a solar cell manufacturing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various developments have been made on solar cells in order to utilize solar energy. Various types of solar cells have been devised, such as crystalline solar cells using single crystal silicon or polycrystalline silicon, and amorphous solar cells using amorphous silicon (amorphous silicon). ing.

In such a solar cell, a string is formed by electrically connecting a plurality of solar cells for converting solar energy into electric energy with a tab lead, and the string is placed between a transparent cover glass and a protective material. It is manufactured through a process of laminating with sandwiching between. Conventionally, a soldering device used in such a solar cell soldering process uses a jig or the like to hold a tab lead on a surface electrode of a solar cell fixed on a stage with a pin.
The heater is heated by a heater to melt the solder interposed between the tab lead and the surface electrode of the solar cell.

[0004]

However, the conventional soldering apparatus involves a step of positioning the tab lead on the surface electrode of the solar cell, a step of heating the solder and pressing the tab lead on the surface electrode of the solar cell, and the like. Was on the same stage. For this reason, the next solar cell cannot be carried on the stage until the soldering process for one solar cell is completed. It was difficult to measure.

On the other hand, a soldering apparatus in which a plurality of stages are provided in order to increase efficiency, and steps such as positioning of a tab lead, heating, and pressure bonding are performed in each stage in parallel is also conceivable. However, in such a case, a tab lead positioning mechanism, a heating mechanism, a pressure bonding mechanism, and the like must be provided for each stage. Therefore, the soldering device becomes expensive and large, which is a factor that increases the manufacturing cost of the solar cell.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a soldering apparatus which is inexpensive and small, and which can accurately arrange tab leads with respect to a surface electrode of a solar cell and can efficiently perform soldering.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect, a supply stage to which a solar cell and a tab lead are supplied, and a tab lead is electrically connected to the solar cell. A connection stage, a transfer mechanism for transferring the solar cells and the tab leads from the supply stage to the connection stage, and a holding mechanism for holding the solar cells and the tab leads transferred by the transfer mechanism. Provided is a tab lead soldering device.

In the soldering apparatus according to the first aspect, first, the solar cells and the tab leads are supplied in the supply stage. In this case, the solar cell and the tab lead may be supplied to the supply stage in a state where they are positioned in advance, or the solar cell and the tab lead may be positioned at the supply stage. These solar cells and tab leads are transported from the supply stage to the connection stage by the transport mechanism. In addition, during the transfer by the transfer mechanism, the solar cell and the tab lead are held by the holding mechanism. Then, at the connection stage, the tab leads are electrically connected to the solar cells.

Therefore, according to the soldering apparatus of the first aspect, since the supply stage and the connection stage are provided separately, the supply stage supplies and positions the solar battery cells and tab leads, while the connection stage supplies the solar cell and the tab lead. The tab lead can be electrically connected to the battery cell, and different steps can be performed in parallel at the supply stage and the connection stage. During the transfer from the supply stage to the connection stage, the solar cell and the tab lead are held by the holding mechanism, so that there is no displacement between the solar cell and the tab lead. In the soldering apparatus of the first aspect, the supply stage does not need to be provided with a heating mechanism, a pressure bonding mechanism and the like, while the connection stage does not need to be provided with a tab lead positioning mechanism and the like. In addition, the size of the soldering device becomes small and inexpensive, and the manufacturing cost of the solar cell can be kept low. In addition, by performing the supply and positioning of the solar cells and the electrical connection of the tab leads in parallel, the strings can be efficiently and continuously manufactured.

In the soldering apparatus according to the first aspect,
As described in claim 2, the holding mechanism may include a holding member that holds the tab lead and moves in synchronization with the solar cell transported by the transport mechanism.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the tab lead can be held by the holding member while the solar cell and the tab lead supplied at the supply stage are transported to the connection stage. For this reason, there is no fear that the tab lead will shift during the transfer by the transfer mechanism.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a preheater for preheating the solder, a main heater for heating the solder to the melting temperature, and a tab lead against the solar cell are pressed against the connection stage. A pusher may be provided.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the connection stage, first, the solder is preheated by the preheater, and then the solder is heated to the melting temperature by the main heater. Further, the tab lead is pressed against the solar cell by the pusher, thereby electrically connecting the tab lead to the solar cell.

[0014]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an entire soldering apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The soldering apparatus 1 is provided with a solar cell c
And a conveyer 10 that conveys the tab lead t to the right in the figure. At the introduction position of the conveyor 10 (the left end position of the conveyor 10 in FIG. 1), there is provided a supply stage 11 to which the tab lead t and the solar cell c are supplied while being positioned.
A connection stage 12 that electrically connects the tab lead t to the solar cell c is provided downstream of the conveyor 10 in the transport direction (to the right of the supply stage 11 in FIG. 1). Further, in this embodiment, the connection stage 12
An unloading stage 13 is provided downstream of the conveyor 10 in the transport direction (rightward of the connection stage 12 in FIG. 1) to unload the string s manufactured by the soldering device 1 after the soldering is completed. .

The side of the conveyor 10 (in FIG. 1, the conveyor 1
0), a tab lead supply mechanism 15 for supplying a tab lead t, a solar cell supply mechanism 16 for supplying a solar cell c, and a string s manufactured by the soldering apparatus 1 are stocked. String cassette 17 is disposed. The string cassette 17
It is arranged on the side of the unloading stage 13 (in front of the unloading stage 13 in FIG. 1). Then, as will be described later, the string s manufactured by the soldering device 1 after the soldering is completed is picked up from the conveyor 10 on the unloading stage 13 by the unloading mechanism (not shown) and transferred to the string cassette 17. I have.

The solar cell supply mechanism 16 includes the camera 2
0, 21 and a pair of flux applying rollers 22. Then, while taking out and transporting a plurality of solar cells c stored in a suitable container (for example, a carrier cassette) one by one, the camera 20 inspects for defects such as cracks, and after positioning with the camera 21, The structure is such that the flux 23 for improving the soldering is applied to the surface of the solar cell c by the flux applying roller 22. In addition, the solar cell c 'in which a defect is found in the camera 20 is discharged to the side (in FIG. 1, forward) by an exclusion mechanism (not shown).

The tab lead supply mechanism 15 includes a tab lead t.
Is wound around a pair of rolls 25 and a pair of cutters 2
6 is provided. The surface of the tab lead t is coated with solder. Then, the tab leads t continuously fed from the roll 25 are cut into appropriate lengths by a cutter 26, and in the illustrated example, one solar cell c is cut.
In this configuration, the cut tab leads t are positioned at predetermined positions and placed two by two. When the tab lead t is positioned and placed on the surface of the solar cell c in this manner, the flux 23 applied by the flux applying roller 22 is interposed between the tab lead t and the solar cell c. Has become.

In addition, the solar cell c with the tab lead t positioned and mounted on the surface in this manner is mounted on the conveyor 10 at the supply stage 11 by a transport mechanism (not shown) having suction pads and the like. It has become.

The conveyor 10 has a driving roller 30 located at the right end in the illustrated example, and three other driven rollers 3.
1,32,33. The drive roller 30 has an intermittent rotational power of a motor 35 such as a servomotor (clockwise rotational power in the illustrated example).
Is transmitted via the shaft 36. And the motor 35
The conveyor 10 intermittently circulates in the clockwise direction in the drawing by the operation of, so that the solar cells c placed on the conveyor 10 in the supply stage 11 are moved in the order of the connection stage 12 and the unloading stage 13. They are moving intermittently.

As shown in FIG. 2, a large number of air inlets 40 are provided on the surface of the conveyor 10, and air is sucked from the air inlets 40 when the air supply chamber 41 arranged inside the conveyor 10 is depressurized. By the way, supply stage 1
In 1, the solar battery cells c placed on the conveyor 10 are adsorbed on the conveyor 10. Thus, the configuration is such that the solar battery cells c are sucked and held while being transported from the supply stage 11 to the connection stage 12 and then to the unloading stage 13 in this order.

Here, FIGS. 3A and 3B both show a state in which the solar cell c and the tab lead t placed on the conveyor 10 in the supply stage 11 are viewed from above. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, the solar cell c1 in a state where the tab lead t1 is positioned and mounted on the conveyor 10 on the supply stage 11 on the surface.
Is supplied. That is, in this embodiment, two tab leads t1 are mounted on one solar cell c1. Both of these two tab leads t1 are arranged so as to protrude from the upper side of the solar battery cell c1 in the conveying direction of the conveyor 10 (to the left of the solar battery cell c1 in FIG. 3A).
The tip sides (the right side of the tab lead t1 in FIG. 3A) of the two tab leads t1 are positioned so as to come into contact with an upper electrode (not shown) provided on the upper surface of the solar cell c1. When the solar cell c1 and the tab lead t1 are supplied as described above, the conveyor 10 is in a stopped state.

Next, the tab lead t1 and the solar cell c1 are placed on the conveyor 10 at the supply stage 11 in this manner.
Are supplied in a positioned state, the tab lead t1 and the solar cell c1 move by a predetermined distance due to the intermittent conveyance of the conveyor 10, and then the conveyor 10 is stopped again. Further, after the conveyor 10 is stopped again, as shown in FIG.
The next solar cell c2 in a state where the tab lead t2 of the book is positioned and placed on the surface is supplied. When the next solar cell c2 is supplied in this manner, the front end side of the solar cell c2 (the right side of the solar cell c2 in FIG. 3B) is described first with reference to FIG. As described above, the rear end of the tab lead t1 protruding from the upper side of the solar cell c1 in the conveying direction of the conveyor 10 (the left side of the solar cell c1 in FIG. 3B) (FIG. 3B) In this case, it is disposed so as to rest on the left side of the tab lead t1). As a result, the lower surface electrode (not shown) provided on the lower surface of the solar cell c2 is connected to the two tab leads t1.
3 is positioned so as to come into contact with the rear end side (the left side of the tab lead t1 in FIG. 3B) from above.

By repeating the steps described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B, a predetermined number of solar cells c and tab leads t are sequentially placed on the conveyor 10 in the supply stage 11, and The configuration is such that the tab lead t is positioned and supplied in a state where the tab lead t is in contact with the upper surface electrode and the lower surface electrode of the battery cell c. A supply mechanism (not shown) having suction pads and the like is used for supplying the solar cells c and the tab leads t in the supply stage 11 as described above.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, above the conveyer 10, the tab lead t comes into contact with the upper surface electrode and the lower surface electrode of the solar cell c during the transfer from the supply stage 11 to the connection stage 12. Is provided with a holding mechanism 50 for holding the position. The holding mechanism 50 includes an endless belt 55 wound around a driving roller 51 and three driven rollers 52, 53, 54, and a plurality of pressing rods 56 attached to the peripheral surface of the endless belt 55 at predetermined intervals. Have. The endless belt 55 is laterally above the conveyor 10 (in FIG.
1 and behind the connection stage 12), the tip of each holding rod 56 attached to the side of the endless belt 55 (in front of the endless belt 55 in FIG. 1) is disposed in parallel with the conveyor 10. It is arranged above the conveyor 10. The aforementioned intermittent rotational power of the motor 35 is transmitted to the drive roller 51 via the shaft 36, gears 60, 61, shaft 62, timing pulley 63, timing belt 64, timing pulley 65, shaft 66. 51
Are rotated at the same peripheral speed as the drive roller 30 of the conveyor 10 in the opposite rotation direction (counterclockwise rotation in the illustrated example) and at the same timing as the drive roller 30. As a result, the endless belt 55 intermittently rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the figure at the same peripheral speed and at the same timing as the conveyor 10, and each holding rod 56 attached to the lower surface side of the endless belt 55 is moved by the conveyor. It is configured to intermittently move at the same speed in the same direction as the upper surface of the conveyor 10 (to the right in FIG. 1) while facing the upper surface of the conveyor 10.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the holding mechanism 50, each holding bar 56 is supported by a supporting member 70 fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the endless belt 55 at a predetermined interval. In addition, two holding members 72 are mounted via a spring portion 71 at the tip end of each holding bar 56 which is arranged to protrude to the side of the endless belt 55 so as to be located above the conveyor 10. . The holding member 72 is substantially U
The configuration is such that both ends of a wire made of a metal having a letter shape are attached to a spring portion 71. Then, the elasticity of the spring portion 71 urges the rotation of the holding member 72 so as to press the two holding members 72 downward, thereby causing the conveyor 10 to rotate.
2 placed on the upper surface of the solar cell c placed on
One tab lead t is held down from above by a holding member 72 and held.

With the tab lead t on the upper surface of the solar cell c held by the holding member 72 in this manner, as described above, each holding rod 56 is moved by the conveyor 10 along with the peripheral movement of the endless belt 55. The photovoltaic cell c and the tab lead t placed on the conveyor 10 move from the supply stage 11 to the connection stage 12 by intermittently moving at the same speed in the same direction as the upper surface of the conveyor 10 while facing the upper surface of the conveyor 10. It is configured to be transported in a state where no shift occurs.

Next, as shown in FIG.
Above the conveyor 10, a pre-heater 80
, A main heater 81 and a pusher 82. As shown in FIG. 6, the preliminary heater 80 and the main heater 81 include lamp heaters 85 and 86. Further, the pusher 82 includes a pusher rod 87. Then, at the supply stage 11, the conveyor 10
The pre-heater 80, the main heater 81, and the pusher 8 are moved by the intermittent conveyance of the conveyer 10 described above, with the solar cells c and the tab leads t placed thereon.
2 are sequentially moved downward. Thereby, when the solar cell c and the tab lead t are carried into the connection stage 12 by the operation of the conveyor 10, first, the solder applied to the surface of the tab lead t by the irradiation from the lamp heater 85 in the pre-heater 80 is preliminarily prepared. Then, the solder applied to the surface of the tab lead t is melted by irradiation from the lamp heater 86 in the main heater 81, and the pusher rod 87 is lowered by the pusher 82, so that the lower end of the pusher rod 87 is lowered. The tab lead t is pressed against the solar cell c. Further, while the solar cell c and the tab lead t are sequentially moved below the preliminary heater 80, the main heater 81, and the pusher 82 by the conveyance of the conveyor 10, the solar cell c
By holding the tab lead t disposed on the upper surface of the holding member 72 with the holding member 72, the displacement is prevented.

Now, in the soldering apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, first,
For the solar cells c supplied one by one from the solar cell supply mechanism 16, two tab leads t supplied from the tab lead supply mechanism 15 are placed at predetermined positions. Then, the solar cell c in a state where the tab lead t is positioned and mounted on the surface is mounted on the conveyor 10 at the supply stage 11 by a transport mechanism (not shown).

Next, the solar cells c thus placed on the conveyor 10 intermittently move in the order of the supply stage 11, the connection stage 12, and the carry-out stage 13 due to the intermittent rotation of the conveyor 10. Go. During this move,
The solar cell c is adsorbed and held on the conveyor 10, and the two tab leads t arranged on the upper surface of the solar cell c are pressed and held by the holding member 72 from above, thereby holding the solar cell c. And the tab lead t is prevented from being displaced.

In the connection stage 12, first, the solder applied to the surface of the tab lead t is preheated by the preheater 80. Next, in the main heater 81, the solder applied to the surface of the tab lead t is melted. Further, the tab lead t is pressed against the solar cell c by the pusher 82. Thus, in the connection stage 12, the tab lead t is electrically connected to the solar cell c.

Then, the string s manufactured by electrically connecting the tab lead t to the solar cell c in the connection stage 12 as described above is transferred to the unloading stage 1.
It is carried out to 3. Then, the strings s thus manufactured are picked up from the conveyor 10 by the unloading mechanism (not shown) at the unloading stage 13 and sequentially transferred to the string cassette 17.

According to the soldering apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the solar cell c and the tab lead t
By electrically connecting the tab leads t to the solar cells c at the connection stage 12 while supplying and positioning the same, it is possible to perform different processes in the two stages 11 and 12 in parallel. The supply stage 11 does not need to be provided with a heating mechanism, a pressure bonding mechanism, and the like.
Since there is no need to provide a positioning mechanism for the tab lead t on the connection stage 12, a small and inexpensive soldering apparatus 1 can be used.
Can be provided, and the manufacturing cost of the solar cell can be reduced. In addition, by simultaneously supplying and positioning the solar cells c and the tab leads t and electrically connecting the solar cells c and the tab leads t, the strings s can be efficiently and continuously manufactured. During the transfer from the supply stage 11 to the connection stage 12, the solar cell c is sucked and held on the conveyor 10, and the two tab leads t arranged on the upper surface of the solar cell c are held from above by the holding member 72. Since it is held down and held, there is no displacement between the solar cell c and the tab lead t.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is, of course, not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified. For example, in the illustrated example, the solar cells c
Supply stage 11 in a state where
Although the description has been made of the case where the solar cell c and the tab lead t are positioned in the supply stage 11, the configuration may be such that the supply is performed.

In the preliminary heater 80 and the main heater 81, for example, heating may be performed using hot air. The lamp heaters 85 and 86 provided in the preliminary heater 80 and the main heater 81 may be any of far-infrared rays, near-infrared rays, and mid-infrared rays, and ceramic heaters may be used instead of the lamp heaters 85 and 86. . The preliminary heater 80 and the main heater 81
The number of installations is arbitrary, and two or more may be installed. Further, the preliminary heater 80 can be omitted. The heating temperature of the preliminary heater 80 or the main heater 81 can be set arbitrarily, and the device to be heated (such as a solar cell c)
It can be set appropriately according to the types of solder, solder and flux.

Since the solar battery cell c is heated by the preliminary heater 80 and the main heater 81 while being mounted on the conveyor 10, when the conveyor 10 is formed of a steel belt or the like, for example, a steel belt is used. Is heated, and the upper surface of the conveyor 10 may be deformed such as warpage. When the upper surface of the conveyor 10 warps, the solar cells c
Becomes unstable on the conveyor 10 and causes a displacement and a poor soldering. Therefore, in order to prevent such a deformation of the conveyor 10, the drive roller 30 and the driven rollers 31, 32, 33 around which the conveyor 10 is wound are preferably formed in a middle-high (crown) shape. Further, a tension controller may be provided on a part or all of the driving roller 30 and the driven rollers 31, 32, 33 to prevent the conveyor 10 from being deformed. Preheating heater 8
In the connection stage 12 where the heater 0, the main heater 81, and the pusher 82 exist, it is also possible to suppress the warpage of the conveyor 10 by sucking the conveyor 10 from below or pressing the conveyor 10 from below.

In order to prevent such deformation of the conveyor 10, the conveyor 10 may be divided into a plurality (three in the illustrated example) of belts 90, 91 and 92 as shown in FIG. In this case, the belts 9 located on both sides
It is preferable that the reference numerals 0 and 92 are located below the tab lead t positioned at the solar cell c, and the belt 91 positioned at the center supports substantially the center of the solar cell c.

Further, a configuration may be adopted in which the tab lead t is pressed against the solar battery cell c by the pusher 82, and at the same time, the cooling is performed by blowing or the like. Since the solar cell c is usually made of a material having excellent thermal conductivity such as silicon, the preliminary heater 80 and the main heater 8 are not used.
1, the back surface of the solar cell c can be heated at the same time, and the tab lead t can be simultaneously soldered to the back surface of the solar cell c. However, a heater may be provided below the conveyor 10 in correspondence with the preliminary heater 80 and the main heater 81. In that case, conveyor 1
For example, a hot plate or the like can be used for the heater installed below 0. Further, by transporting the tab lead t on the upper surface of the solar cell c while holding it by the holding member 72 as in the apparatus of the embodiment, the pusher 82 can be omitted.

The shape of the photovoltaic cell c is not limited to a square, but may be a circle, a scrand, a polygon, or the like. Further, one tab lead t, Alternatively, three or more tab leads t may be connected. Further, the conveyance by the conveyor 10 is not limited to the intermittent movement, but may be a continuous movement. Further, in the holding mechanism 50, one or three or more holding members 72 may be attached to the tip portion of each holding bar 56.

[0040]

According to the soldering apparatus of the present invention, different steps can be performed in parallel at the supply stage and the connection stage, and strings can be efficiently and continuously manufactured. In addition, the supply stage does not need to be provided with a heating mechanism, a pressure bonding mechanism, etc., and the connection stage does not need to be provided with a tab lead positioning mechanism, so that a small and inexpensive soldering device can be provided, and the solar cell manufacturing cost Can also be reduced. During the transfer from the supply stage to the connection stage,
Since the solar cell and the tab lead are held by the holding mechanism, no displacement occurs.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an entire soldering apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a conveyor.

FIG. 3A is a plan view showing a state where a first solar cell and a tab lead are placed on a conveyor in a supply stage, and FIG. 3B is a plan view showing a state where the next solar cell and a tab lead are placed on a conveyor in the supply stage. It is a top view which shows the state mounted on an upper part.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the holding mechanism.

5 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a preliminary heater, a main heater, and a pusher provided on a connection stage.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a conveyor divided into a plurality of conveyors.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a belt disposed below a tab lead and at the center of a solar cell.

[Explanation of symbols]

 c Solar cell t Tab lead 1 Soldering equipment. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Conveyor 11 Supply stage 12 Connection stage 50 Holding mechanism 55 Endless belt 56 Pressing bar 72 Holding member 80 Preheating heater 81 Main heating heater 82 Pusher

Claims (3)

[Claims] A supply stage for supplying a solar cell and a tab lead, and a connection stage for electrically connecting the tab lead to the solar cell are provided, and the solar cell and the tab lead are transported from the supply stage to the connection stage. An apparatus for soldering a tab lead, comprising: a transfer mechanism; and a holding mechanism for holding a solar cell and a tab lead transferred by the transfer mechanism. 2. The tab lead according to claim 1, wherein the holding mechanism includes a holding member that holds the tab lead and moves in synchronization with a solar cell transported by the transport mechanism. Soldering equipment. 3. The connection stage is provided with a pre-heater for pre-heating the solder, a main heater for heating the solder to a melting temperature, and a pusher for pressing a tab lead against the solar cell. The tab lead soldering apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.