WO2019096409A1

WO2019096409A1 - Device for receiving solar cells, system for sorting solar cells, and method for delivering solar cells to a multitude of bins

Info

Publication number: WO2019096409A1
Application number: PCT/EP2017/079629
Authority: WO
Inventors: Davide Colla
Original assignee: Applied Materials Italia S.R.L.
Priority date: 2017-11-17
Filing date: 2017-11-17
Publication date: 2019-05-23

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a device (100) for receiving solar cells, including an electronic display (110) configured to display at least one solar cell characteristic.

Description

DEVICE FOR RECEIVING SOLAR CELLS, SYSTEM FOR SORTING SOLAR CELLS, AND METHOD FOR DELIVERING SOLAR CELLS TO A MULTITUDE

OF BINS

FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a device for receiving solar cells, a system for sorting solar cells, and a method for delivering solar cells to a multitude of bins. Embodiments of the present disclosure particularly relate to a flexible and failsafe device, system and method for sorting solar cells.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Solar cells are photovoltaic devices that convert sunlight directly into electrical power. The efficiency of the solar cells can be affected by an active area on a front surface of the solar cell that is exposed to light for converting sunlight into electrical power. The active area can be reduced due to the presence of electrical contacts, such as fingers and/or busbars, on the front surface of the solar cells. A multitude of solar cells can be assembled in an array of solar cells to form a solar panel or module. Solar panels are sold to end customers, such as private households, to be mounted on a house's roof so as to generate electricity for personal use and/or for feeding to the public electricity net.

[0003] The solar cell with the worst performance essentially defines the performance of the complete solar panel. Experience also shows that customers prefer panels with an homogenous color appearance of the individual wafers rather than panels with solar cells of different color. Furthermore, some cells might be more suitable to, for instance, direct light incidence whereas other cells are more suitable for indirect incidence. Solar cells can be sorted at the end of a solar cell production process using a sorting tool so as to be able to assemble panels with well-defined characteristics. The sorting tool and/or the sorting process should be optimized in order to maximize a throughput and efficiency of the sorting tool. [0004] In view of the above, new devices for receiving solar cells, systems for sorting solar cells, and methods for delivering solar cells to a multitude of bins that overcome at least some of the problems in the art are beneficial. The present disclosure particularly aims to improve a sorting tool and sorting process.

SUMMARY

[0005] In light of the above, a device for receiving solar cells, a system for sorting solar cells, and a method for delivering solar cells to a multitude of bins are provided. Further aspects, benefits, and features of the present disclosure are apparent from the claims, the description, and the accompanying drawings.

[0006] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a device for receiving solar cells is provided. The device includes an electronic display configured to display at least one solar cell characteristic.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a system for sorting solar cells is provided. The system includes two or more bins each having an electronic display configured to display a quality class assigned to each of the two or more bins, a transfer device configured to transfer the solar cells to the two or more bins according to the displayed quality classes, and a controller configured to variably assign the quality class to the two or more bins. [0008] According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, a method for delivering solar cells to a multitude of bins is provided. The method includes assigning a first quality class to a first bin and a second quality class to a second bin, displaying the first quality class on a first electronic display of the first bin and a second quality class on a second electronic display of the second bin, and delivering solar cells having the first quality class to the first bin and solar cells having the second quality class to the second bin.

[0009] Embodiments are also directed at apparatuses for carrying out the disclosed methods and include apparatus parts for performing each described method aspect. These method aspects may be performed by way of hardware components, a computer programmed by appropriate software, by any combination of the two or in any other manner. Furthermore, embodiments according to the disclosure are also directed at methods for operating the described apparatus. The methods for operating the described apparatus include method aspects for carrying out every function of the apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments. The accompanying drawings relate to embodiments of the disclosure and are described in the following: FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of devices for receiving solar cells according to embodiments described herein;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of a bin for receiving solar cells according to embodiments described herein; FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a solar cell production tool according to embodiments described herein;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic top view of a system for sorting solar cells according to embodiments described herein;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic side view of a system for sorting solar cells according to embodiments described herein; and

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of a method for delivering solar cells to a multitude of bins according to embodiments described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Reference will now be made in detail to the various embodiments of the disclosure, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the figures. Within the following description of the drawings, the same reference numbers refer to same components. Generally, only the differences with respect to individual embodiments are described. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the disclosure and is not meant as a limitation of the disclosure. Further, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used on or in conjunction with other embodiments to yield yet a further embodiment. It is intended that the description includes such modifications and variations.

[0012] The sorting of solar cells can be based on a fixed arrangement of bins in which the cells are deposited according to a classification of the solar cells. For example, the solar cells can be deposited into the final box used for packaging. Alternatively, dedicated bins for the deposition of the solar cells can be provided. An operator can manually collect the cells from the bin and put them in the final package. The system of dedicated bins allows for (1) depositing the solar cells with a certain positioning accuracy, and (2) handling the bins by manual or automatic systems to improve the loading and unloading of the bins, i.e. the replacement of a full bin with an empty bin. An exemplary architecture of a sorting machine or tool (so called“sorter”) can include one or two lanes serving arrays of bins (e.g. 3x4 per side of the lane or 2x5). The actuators which handle the solar cells from the lane to the bins can be linear axes or delta robots. The location of a class in the arrays of bins may influence the throughput performance of the sorter. For example, the combination of the frequency of the class and the distance of the associated bin from the pickup position on the lane can determine the workload of the pick-and-place robot. For the delta robot, the cycle time of the handling can be different among the bins.

[0013] The present disclosure provides a device for receiving solar cells, such as a bin, which has an electronic display configured to display at least one solar cell characteristic, such as a class of the solar cells which are collected in the device. The electronic display can be a visual indicator of the classification of the deposited solar cells which can be updated for instance by communication between the device and a sorter controller. A sorting tool and a sorting process can be improved, because the electronic display can flexibly display various information e.g. for an operator. The operator can instantaneously recognize e.g. a class of the solar cells in a respective bin. Further, the class allocated to a bin can be changed in order to change a location of a class in the array of bins e.g. based on the frequency of the class, without having to physically move a bin. [0014] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an array 1 of devices 100 for receiving solar cells or wafers according to embodiments described herein. The device 100 can be a bin configured to receive solar cells. The device 100 includes an electronic display 110 configured to display at least one solar cell characteristic, such as a class, assigned to the device 100. [0015] Wafers for the solar cell production industries can be produced in a sequence of various processes. In particular, an ingot (e.g. multicrystalline or monocrystalline) can be sawed into individual wafers. The wafers may have a thickness of below 150 pm or even below 100 pm. Exemplary sizes of the wafers can be in the range of between 10 cm x 10 cm and 20 cm x 20 cm. Wafers as understood herein may be quadratic with optionally cut- off comers.

[0016] The wafers may undergo several doping, drilling, printing, and heating processes so as to produce a solar cell (“processed wafer”) that will be assembled together to form a solar panel. Although industries seek to be provided with a production process that is capable of producing solar wafers that are all perfectly identical, and have optimized characteristics, in practice, subsequent wafers stemming from the identical production process differ from each other in characteristics, such as the performance if exposed to sunlight, the color, a physical integrity, an adaption to incoming light, etc. This is due to differences in the raw materials and deviations and disturbances in the further processing.

[0017] Hence, the solar cells may be analyzed, and dependent on the outcome of the analysis, the solar cells may be classified and collected separately from other solar cells with different classifications. The phrases "delivering wafers/solar cells to devices/bins", "distributing wafers/solar cells to devices/bins", "sorting wafers/solar cells" and "binning" shall be understood synonymously herein, and shall be understood as moving the wafers/solar cells to different bins. Each device 100 has a maximum capacity. Once the maximum capacity is reached, the respective device 100 has to be replaced by an empty device 100. This may be done manually or automatically.

[0018] FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of a device 100, such as a bin, for receiving solar cells 5 according to embodiments described herein. [0019] The device 100 is configured to store several soar cells 5 or wafers therein. The device 100 may have one ore more side walls 120. In particular, bins as understood herein may be boxes, such as boxes made of polystyrene. The side walls may have one or more grooves 122 or cutouts to allow for a picking-up of the solar cells 5 by an operator. In some embodiments, each side wall has a respective groove or cutout. [0020] The device 100 includes the electronic display 110 configured to display at least one solar cell characteristic. The electronic display 110 can be an electronic visual display, such as an LCD display or an LED display. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and other displays suitable to visually display the at least one solar cell characteristic can be used. [0021] According to some embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the at least one solar cell characteristic is a class of the solar cells, such as a quality class or an efficiency class. For example, the solar cells may be analyzed to obtain one or more properties of the solar cells, and dependent on the outcome of the analysis, the solar cells may be classified and collected separately from other solar cells with different classifications.

[0022] The one or more properties can be selected from the group including electrical properties, optical properties, and combined electrical/optical properties. The one or more properties have to be within selectable intervals in order to classify as belonging to the respective class and bin. Thus, the solar cells of each bin constitute a multitude of highly similar wafers. "Similar" in this context has to be understood as identical or with marginal deviations regarding the solar cell properties that were analyzed for the binning process.

[0023] The electrical properties, optical properties, and combined electrical/optical properties can be selected from the group including electroluminescence, photoluminescence, and electrical characteristics. For example, at least one of electroluminescence measurements, photoluminescence measurements, and electrical measurements (e.g., measurements of a current-voltage (I-V) curve of the solar cell) can be performed before the solar cell is binned. Additionally or alternatively to the above properties, an analysis of at least one of a printing quality, a structural integrity, and an optical appearance (e.g. a color) of the solar cells can be performed.

[0024] In some implementations, based on the findings of the inspection, the solar cells or wafers may be classified to different quality classes (or simply called "classes" herein) according to the one or more properties. For example, the solar cells or wafers may be classified into n different classes with n denoting an integer that can for instance be larger than 24. According to some embodiments, n may be 48. The number of solar cells may not be homogenously distributed over all classes. Instead, the production process can lead to a high number of solar cells in some classes and a low number of solar cells in other classes. Not limited to any embodiment, as explained, the classification of the solar cells or wafers can be configured dependent on the one or more properties of the solar cell, such as a quality, an efficiency, optical properties, and the like.

[0025] The device 100 may further include a display controller connected to the electronic display 110 and configured to display at least a first solar cell characteristic or a second solar cell characteristic based on an external input e.g. from a sorter controller. For example, a respective solar cell characteristic, such as a class, can be visible and readable by an operator. If an empty device is placed on a sorter, the sorter controller can assign a (new) class to the device 100 e.g. by contactless or contact communication, such as docking. The electronic display 110 can display different solar cell characteristics e.g. depending on a location of the bin in the sorter.

[0026] In some implementations, the device 100 can be flexibly put on any location of the sorter (e.g. corresponding to a certain quality or efficiency class) regardless of the previous location. In some implementations, the loading of the device 100 can be done manually by an operator or automatically by a robot. The device 100 of the present disclosure is particularly beneficial for the manual operation, because the system architecture is less complex when compared to a fully automated system. [0027] The electronic display 110 can be placed in a way such that the electronic display 110 is visible to the operator. In the example of FIG. 2, the electronic display 110 is located on an inner side wall of the device 100. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and the electronic display 110 can be provided at other locations of the device 100 as long as the electronic display 110 is visible to the operator either inside the sorter or outside. The classification of the solar cells can be shown until the solar cells are placed in the final package. There is no need for physical labels which designate the sorting class to a specific bin position on the sorter.

[0028] According to some embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the device 100 includes at least one identification device configured to provide an identification of the device 100. The at least one identification device can be selected from the group including an RFID device 130, a barcode 132, and an optical identification element. An operator and/or the sorter controller may read the RFID device 130 and/or the barcode 132 using a reader to obtain information about the device 100 and/or the solar cells stored therein. For example, the RFID device 130 and/or the barcode 132 may uniquely identify the device 100 to an operator and/or the sorter controller.

[0029] According to some embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the device 100 includes a connector 140 or socket. The connector 140 can be configured to provide a physical connection between the device 100 and a system for sorting solar cells, i.e., the sorter or sorting tool, when the device 100 is positioned in the sorter. For example, the connector 140 can be connectable to a docking contact 142 of the sorter. In some implementations, the connector can be provided at a bottom side of the device 100.

[0030] In some embodiments, the connector 140 can be configured to receive power from an external power source, such as from the sorter. Additionally or alternatively, the connector 140 can be configured to receive control signals for controlling at least the electronic display 110. For example, the electronic display (or the display controller) can receive control signals from the sorter, and in particular from the sorter controller, to control the electronic display 110. [0031] In some embodiments, the device 100 may include a wireless communication device. The wireless communication device can be configured for a communication with the sorter, and in particular the sorter controller. For example, the wireless communication device may receive control signals for controlling at least the electronic display 110 from the sorter, and in particular from the sorter controller. According to some embodiments, the device 100 can be configured to receive the control signals either via the connector 140 or the wireless communication device, or can be configured to receive the control signals via both the connector 140 and the wireless communication device. Every time an empty bin is placed on the sorter, the sorter controller can assign a new class via contactless communication or wired communication (docking).

[0032] In some implementations, the device 100 further includes a rechargeable power source, such as a battery or backup battery, configured to provide the electronic display 110 and the display controller with power. The rechargeable power source can be recharged using for instance the power provided via the connector 140. The electronic display 110 can be operated even if the device 100 is not connected to the sorter e.g. via the connector 140.

[0033] FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a solar cell production tool according to embodiments described herein. The solar cell production tool includes one or more process stations 10, one or more inspection stations 20, and the sorter 30.

[0034] The wafers are processed in the one or more process stations 10. For instance, the illustratively shown one or more process stations 10 may be a combination of one or more of the following apparatuses: Sawing apparatus, cleaning apparatus, doping apparatus, deposition apparatus, printing apparatus, flipping apparatus, oven, inspection apparatus, drilling apparatus, etc. In particular, the one or more process stations 10 may include several printing apparatuses configured for printing one or more line patterns of a conductive material onto the wafer.

[0035] As furthermore schematically illustrated in FIG. 3, after the processing of the wafers, and in particular after completion of the solar cell and before the binning, the wafer may be analyzed in the one or more inspection stations 20. For instance, it is possible to provide one, two, three, or more inspection apparatuses each configured to inspect the wafer regarding a specific property. The properties to be analyzed can be selected by the operator in dependence on the technical and economic needs of the production process. In the following, though, some examples of characteristics to be analyzed shall be exemplarily discussed. It shall be highlighted that the term "processed wafer" particularly includes a completely finished solar cell.

[0036] For instance, one or more of the inspection stations 20 may be configured to examine the processed wafers for a physical integrity, and in particular whether the wafer contains broken parts or edges, cracks, fractures, or the like. The wafers may also be examined as to whether there are printing residues, i.e., whether there is printing material deposited at positions of the wafer where it is not supposed to be. According to some embodiments, the one or more of the inspection stations 20 may be configured for an inspection of the color of the solar cell and/or reflection properties dependent on the incoming light.

[0037] In some implementations, the one or more of the inspection stations 20 may be configured for an inspection of the performance of the solar cell. For instance, the inspection apparatus may include a solar simulator that is typically adapted to generate a flash of light according to a spectral distribution that is similar to natural sunlight. The produced energy may be measured.

[0038] According to embodiments, the wafers are forwarded from the inspection station 20 to the sorter 30 (also referred to as “binning apparatus”). Not limited to the embodiments of transferring the wafers from the inspection station 20 to the sorter 30, a wafer may be moved by a conveyor belt or a sequence of subsequent conveyor belts within, before, or after any station described herein.

[0039] Based on the findings of the inspection, the wafers may be assigned to different quality classes (or simply called "classes" herein) according to the one or more properties obtained during the inspection. Not limited to any embodiment, as explained, the classes of the wafers are configured dependent on the one or more properties of the solar cells.

[0040] Furthermore, according to aspects of the present disclosure, priority groups are configured. The priority groups may include at least a high priority group and a low priority group. Furthermore, not limited to any embodiment, the classes can be each assigned to one of the priority groups, and each of the multitude of bins can be assigned to one of the priority groups according to aspects of the present disclosure. Configuring the classes and/or the priority groups can be done in advance of a binning process but may be undertaken or repeated during the binning process. Additionally or alternatively, assigning the quality classes to one of the priority groups and/or assigning each of the multitude of bins can be done in advance of a binning process but may be undertaken or repeated during the binning process.

[0041] FIG. 4 shows a schematic top view of a system 400 for sorting solar cells according to embodiments described herein. The system 400 can be referred to as“sorter” or“binning apparatus”.

[0042] The system 400 includes two or more bins 31 each having an electronic display configured to display a quality class assigned to each of the two or more bins 31 , a transfer device configured to transfer the solar cells to the two or more bins according to the displayed quality classes, and a controller (i.e., the sorter controller) configured to variably assign the quality class to the two or more bins.

[0043] The two or more bins 31 can be configured as described with respect to FIGs. 1 and 2. In particular, the sorter controller can be configured to communicate with the two or more bins 31 wirelessly and/or via a cable. The system 400 may also include a reader configured to read the identification devices of the two or more bins 31, such as RFID devices and/or barcodes.

[0044] The system 400 as shown is provided with forty-eight bins 31 that are arranged in a 6x8 array, i.e., 6 rows and 8 columns. Generally, and not limited to the illustration of FIG. 4, the solar cells may enter the system 400, for instance, via a conveyor belt as indicated by arrow 29. The solar cells may be moved within the system 400 by, for instance, a conveyor belt 50 until they may be gripped by the transfer device, such as a robot.

[0045] According to some embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the transfer device (also referred to as“delivery system”) includes one or more robots. In the exemplary drawing of FIG. 4, four robots 35, 36, 37, and 38 are arranged within or above the system 400 to grip the solar cells and to distribute each solar cell to one of the multitude of bins 31. The robots may be arranged above the conveyor belt 50. Each robot may be provided with one or more arms (see Fig. 5), and each robot can be responsible for the delivery of the wafers to a specific set of bins. In some implementations, each robot is exclusively responsible for the delivery of the solar cells to a specific set of bins. In particular, with r denoting the number of robots and b denoting the number of bins, each robot is configured to deliver incoming wafers to be divided by r different bins.

[0046] The travel time the delivery system needs to deliver a wafer to the various bins differs. For instance, to deliver a wafer to a bin closer to the conveyor belt may need less travel time than the delivery of a wafer to a bin far away from the conveyor belt. Hence, according to aspects of the present disclosure, each bin has a defined travel time that is taken into account for the binning process according to embodiments of the present subject-matter.

[0047] According to aspects of the disclosure, each (quality) class is assigned to a priority group. For instance, the number of priority groups may be three, four, five, or six. Without limitation of the scope, in the following, exemplary reference is made to five priority groups (priority group 1 to priority group 5). Furthermore, in the following, for illustrative purposes, that shall not be construed limiting, priority group 1 shall denote the highest priority ("highest priority"), priority group 2 shall denote a reduced priority as compared to priority group 1 ("high priority"), and so on. Priority group 5 shall denote the lowest priority ("lowest priority").

[0048] According to some embodiments, only those quality classes which are assigned to a highest priority group, such as priority group 1, are very frequent (i.e., with a high number of wafers falling into this class). Only those classes that are assigned to a high priority group, such a priority group 2, are still frequent, but less frequent than the classes of priority group 1, and still more frequent than the classes of priority group 3. Hence, the lowest priority group, for instance priority group 5, will include only classes that are rather rare. The wording "a class is rare/frequent" shall refer to a situation where the production process leads to a low/high number of processed wafers with characteristics as defined by the respective quality class.

[0049] The assignment of the quality classes to priority groups can be done in a test run of the solar cell production apparatus. A test run as understood herein is identical to the normal production of solar cells with the only difference being that the results of the wafer analysis are saved and evaluated.

[0050] The system of the present disclosure can assign the frequent classes to the positions nearer to the pick-up position on the lane. In this way, the pick-and-place time can be optimized and the throughput performance can be maximized. Further, the priority can be assigned to sorter zones in accordance with operating aspects, such as an operator’s control/supervision position, a position of a bin to be changed, and a deposition position of the sorted cells. Moreover, it is possible to map or video the geometric arrangement of the bins and highlight the positions with the highest frequency of change for instance with specific colors. [0051] FIG. 5 shows a schematic side view of the system 400 for sorting solar cells according to embodiments described herein.

[0052] The system 400 includes the robots 60 that may be mounted to the upper part 70 of the system 400. The robots are typically positioned above the conveyor belt (as discussed before). In the present view of FIG. 5, however, the bins 31 cover the view to the conveyor belt. Without limitation to the example of FIG. 5, the system 400 may be configured to receive an array of k times I bins with k being, for instance, 8, 9, 10, or even more, and/or I being, for instance, 6, 7, 8, or even more.

[0053] The system 400 as described herein includes one or more robot. The term "robot" shall be understood as any actuated unit configured to grip a solar cell and to move the solar cell. In particular, the system 400 may include two, three, four, or even more robots.

The more robots used, the faster the binning is. All the robots may be controlled by the same sorter controller. A robot may include one or more robot arms, such as robot arms 65. Furthermore, a robot may include an end effector, such as end effector 68, for gripping solar cells. The end effector can particularly be a Bernoulli gripper. [0054] FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of a method 600 for delivering solar cells to a multitude of bins according to embodiments described herein. The method 600 can utilize the devices and systems of the present disclosure.

[0055] The method 600 includes in block 610 an assigning of a first quality class to a first bin and a second quality class to a second bin, in block 620 a displaying of the first quality class on a first electronic display of the first bin and a second quality class on a second electronic display of the second bin, and in block 630 a delivering of solar cells having the first quality class to the first bin and solar cells having the second quality class to the second bin. [0056] In some implementations, the method 600 further includes changing the quality class assigned to at least one of the first bin and the second bin. For example, the bin can be flexibly put on any location of the sorter (e.g. corresponding to a certain quality or efficiency class) regardless of the previous location.

[0057] According to some embodiments, the method 600 further includes assigning a priority to each of the first quality class and the second quality class, and selecting a location of the first bin and the second bin based on the assigned priority. For example, only those quality classes which are assigned to a highest priority group, such as priority group 1, are very frequent (i.e., with a high number of wafers falling into this class). Only those classes that are assigned to a high priority group, such a priority group 2, are still frequent, but less frequent than the classes of priority group 1 , and still more frequent than the classes of priority group 3. Hence, the lowest priority group, for instance priority group 5, will include only classes that are rather rare.

[0058] According to embodiments described herein, the method for delivering solar cells to a multitude of bins can be conducted using computer programs, software, computer software products and the interrelated controllers, which can have a CPU, a memory, a user interface, and input and output devices being in communication with the corresponding components of the apparatus.

[0059] The present disclosure provides a device for receiving solar cells, such as a bin, which has an electronic display configured to display at least one solar cell characteristic, such as a class of the solar cells which are collected in the device. The electronic display can be a visual indicator of the classification of the deposited solar cells which can be updated for instance by communication between the device and a sorter controller. A sorting tool and a sorting process can be improved, because the electronic display can flexibly display various information e.g. for an operator. The operator can instantaneously recognize e.g. a class of the solar cells in a respective bin. Further, the class allocated to a bin can be changed in order to change a location of a class in the array of bins e.g. based on the frequency of the class, without having to physically move a bin.

[0060] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the disclosure, other and further embodiments of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.

Claims

1. A device for receiving solar cells, comprising: an electronic display configured to display at least one solar cell characteristic.

2. The device of claim 1, further including a display controller configured to display at least a first solar cell characteristic or a second solar cell characteristic based on an external input.

3. The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one solar cell characteristic is a quality class of the solar cells.

4. The device of any one of claims 1 to 3, further including: at least one identification device configured to provide a unique identification of the device.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the at least one identification device is selected from the group consisting of an RFID device, a barcode, and an optical identification element.

6. The device of any one of claims 1 to 5, further including a connector configured for at least one of: receiving power from an external power source; and receiving control signals for controlling at least the electronic display.

7. The device of any one of claims 1 to 6, further including a rechargeable power source.

8. The device of any one of claims 1 to 7, further including a wireless communication device.

9. The device of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the device is a bin.

10. A system for sorting solar cells, comprising: two or more bins each having an electronic display configured to display a quality class assigned to each of the two or more bins; a transfer device configured to transfer the solar cells to the two or more bins according to the displayed quality classes; and a sorter controller configured to variably assign the quality class to the two or more bins.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the sorter controller is configured to communicate with the two or more bins at least one of wirelessly and via a cable.

12. The system of claim 10 or 11, further including a reader configured to read identification devices of the two or more bins.

13. A method for delivering solar cells to a multitude of bins, comprising; assigning a first quality class to a first bin and a second quality class to a second bin; displaying the first quality class on a first electronic display of the first bin and a second quality class on a second electronic display of the second bin; and delivering solar cells having the first quality class to the first bin and solar cells having the second quality class to the second bin.

14. The method of claim 13, further including: changing the quality class assigned to at least one of the first bin and the second bin.

15. The method of claim 13 or 14, further including: assigning a priority to each of the first quality class and the second quality class; and selecting a location of the first bin and the second bin based on the assigned priority.