JP2001230430A - Device for manufacturing thin film solar cell module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for manufacturing a thin film solar cell module which prevents a lateral shift of a resin sealing film and increases a carrying speed and is suitable for mass production. SOLUTION: In the device for manufacturing a thin film solar cell module. having a lamination mechanism for laminating a resin sealing film F2 on a thin film solar cell module in which the resin sealing film F2 made of EVA is pinched out by two driving rolls Rd1, Rd2 from a roll on which the film F2 is rolled and is fed to heating pressing rolls to form photoelectric conversion devices on a flexible substrate, the respective driving rollers Rd1, Rd2 have many projections T1, T2 (enveloping surfaces of vertexes are S1, S2) on the surfaces such that the projections are arranged at different positions between the driving rollers, and these projections bend and catch the resin sealing film F2 to transmit driving force to the resin sealing film F2 to carry it.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thin-film solar cell module manufacturing apparatus for laminating a resin sealing film on a thin-film solar cell sub-module using a flexible polymer substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A thin-film solar cell sub-module comprising a flexible polymer film and a thin-film solar cell formed thereon, and a thin-film solar cell comprising a thin-film solar cell sub-module sealed with a sealing film. The module is excellent in mass productivity and workability, and can reduce the cost of the module and the work. As a method of manufacturing such a thin-film solar cell module, a roll-to-roll method in which a module constituent material is supplied in a roll film state, a wiring connection, a resin sealing film, a bonding of a protective material, and the like are performed, and the roll is rolled again. Alternatively, a manufacturing method of a stepping roll system has been proposed. In the roll-to-roll system, the film is continuously conveyed. In the stepping roll system, the film is temporarily stopped, an adhesive process is performed, and the film is conveyed again.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of an outline of a conventional roll-to-roll type thin film solar cell module manufacturing apparatus. Arrows indicate the transport direction. The thin film solar cell submodule F1 is unwound from the unwinding roll R1, the resin sealing film F2 made of ethylene vinyl acetate (hereinafter abbreviated as EVA) is unwound from the unwinding roll R2, and the release film F3 is unwound. Two heating and pressing rolls Rh1 and Rh2 unwound from roll R31 for laminating.
Sent between. The thin film solar cell submodule laminated with the resin sealing film F2, that is, the thin film solar cell module Fm, is wound around a winding roll Rm, and the release film F3 is changed direction by a peeling roll R33 and wound around a winding roll R32. .

[0004] The EVA film (resin sealing film F2) is heated between the heating and pressurizing rolls Rh1 and Rh2 and is close to a molten state. If tension is applied, the shape cannot be maintained or the sheet is cut. The resin sealing film F2 must be fed toward the heating and pressing rolls Rh1 and Rh2 so as not to be caught. For this purpose, the resin sealing film F2 is pulled out from the unwinding roll R2 by the driving rolls Rd1 and Rd2 whose peripheral speeds are synchronized with the heating and pressing rolls Rh1 and Rh2. The driving roll Rd2 presses the resin sealing film F2 against the driving roll Rd1 with an appropriate force, and the driving force of the transport (the above-described pulling force) is generated by the frictional force (including the adhesive force) generated between the resin sealing film F2 and the driving roll Rd1. )
Is transmitted to the resin sealing film F2. In addition, since EVA has a low elasticity limit and easily undergoes plastic deformation, it prevents the film from being stretched due to excessive tension and cannot maintain a shape with a constant width (a waist can be formed). An appropriate braking force (brake) is applied to the unwinding roll R2 so that the sealing film F2 is not loosened and wrinkles are not generated.

[0005]

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional roll-to-roll type thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatus, showing the relationship between the drive roll and the resin sealing film, including the axis of the drive roll. . Conventional drive roll Rd1 and drive roll
Rd2 is made of metal (a rigid body), and its surface is mirror-finished in order to use frictional force and / or adhesive force with the resin sealing film as driving force. However, since the EVA film has a considerable unevenness in thickness, only the thick portion Fa of the resin sealing film contacts both the driving rolls Rd1 and Rd2 to transmit the driving force. Cannot contact both drive rolls, and no drive force is transmitted. As a result, the resin sealing film is distorted, laterally displaced in the vertical direction in the transport direction, and wrinkles may occur, or lamination defects such as no coating may be performed on either side end. To avoid this, the transport speed must be set low, and the transport is stopped every time a shift occurs, and the position of the resin sealing film is adjusted, thereby hindering mass production. In addition, even if it does not lead to poor appearance such as wrinkles, internal stress remains in the thin film solar cell module,
After long-term operation, the characteristics sometimes deteriorated. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing a thin-film solar cell module which does not cause a lateral displacement of a resin sealing film, has a high conveying speed, and is suitable for mass production.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a resin sealing film made of EVA is taken out from an unwinding roll by being sandwiched between two driving rolls, fed into a heating and pressing roll, and heated and heated. In a thin-film solar cell module manufacturing apparatus having a mechanism for laminating a resin sealing film on a thin-film solar cell submodule formed by forming a photoelectric conversion element on a flexible substrate by a pressure roll,
A large number of protrusions are provided on the surface of each of the drive rolls so that the positions of the drive rolls are different from each other, and the resin sealing film is bent by these protrusions, and the driving force is transmitted to the resin sealing film by being hooked and conveyed. It shall be.

The respective enveloping surfaces of the vertexes of the projections of the two driving rolls (sharing the axis with each driving roll) bite each other, and the distance between the two enveloping surfaces and the length of one driving roll It is preferable that the distance between the envelope surface and the surface of the other drive roll exceeds the maximum thickness of the resin sealing film. The protrusion of each drive roll is 2
It is preferable that the drive rolls are arranged so as to alternately contact the resin sealing film in the transport direction between the drive rolls.

It is preferable that the protrusions of the respective drive rolls are arranged so as to alternately contact the resin sealing film in the axial direction of the drive roll between the two drive rolls. The protrusion is preferably a straight rod having a semi-cylindrical apex. The protrusion may have a hemispherical apex. It is preferable that the protrusions of the respective drive rolls are linear rods having a semi-cylindrical apex and are arranged so as to alternately contact the resin sealing film in the transport direction between the two drive rolls.

According to the present invention, since a large number of projections on each side are bent by the projections engaging with each other and hooked on the projections, the resin sealing film is disposed on the surface of the drive roll from both sides. Does not reach, that is, does not contact, and thus the hooked position and the depth thereof are not related to the thickness unevenness of the resin sealing film. That is,
Regardless of the thickness unevenness of the resin sealing film, the transport driving force has a uniform density in the lateral direction, no lateral displacement occurs, and no wrinkles or uncovered portions occur. Therefore, the yield can be improved, the transport speed can be increased, and improvement in mass productivity can be expected. Further, it can be expected that the internal stress is reduced and the reliability of the module is improved.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples. Example 1 FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the surface of a driving roll of a thin film solar cell module manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, (a) is an arrangement diagram of projections on a tangential plane of two driving rolls, and (b) is It is sectional drawing by the plane containing the rotation center of a drive roll and the vertex of a protrusion (AA sectional drawing in (a)), (c) is sectional drawing by the rotation direction surface containing the vertex of the protrusion of a drive roll (in (a)). FIG.

In this embodiment, the projection T1 on the surface of the drive roll Rd1 and the projection T2 on the surface of the drive roll Rd2 are arranged in the direction of the rotation axis of the drive roll and the direction of rotation (the direction of the arrow in the figure).
Are alternately arranged in both directions. Envelope surfaces (cylindrical surfaces) including the vertices of the projections are biting each other, but the bite distance and the surface of the drive roll (cylindrical surface) facing the envelope cylindrical surface
Are greater than the maximum thickness of the resin film. In the rotation direction (transport direction), at least one row of projections bends the resin film so that the driving force is constantly transmitted to the resin film.

The driving roll has a diameter of 280 mm and a length of 700 mm.
On the surface, a hemispherical M2 with a head of a radius of about 3 mm
Were attached according to the arrangement of FIG. The screw interval was 10 mm in the rotation axis direction and 10 mm in the rotation direction. The distance between the bite distance and the surface (cylindrical surface) of the drive roll facing the envelope cylindrical surface was 0.4 mm. Using this thin-film solar cell module manufacturing apparatus, a transfer speed of 5 mm was obtained using a resin sealing film having a length of 150 m and a width of 600 mm for one roll, an average thickness of 0.3 mm, and a maximum thickness unevenness of ± 70 μm. When laminating at / min, 1
There was no need to adjust the position of the resin sealing film in the middle of the roll. Then, wrinkles and uncoated portions did not occur in one roll.

After a continuous photovoltaic power test of the obtained thin-film solar cell module for 200 hours, no decrease in sensitivity relating to the resin sealing film was observed, and it was confirmed that the reliability was high. Example 2 FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the vicinity of the surface of a driving roll of another apparatus for manufacturing a thin film solar cell module according to the present invention.
FIG. 3B is a sectional view (AA sectional view in FIG. 3A) of a plane including the rotation center of the drive roll and the apex of the protrusion, and FIG. It is sectional drawing (BB sectional drawing in (a)) by the rotation direction surface containing the vertex of the protrusion of a roll.

In this case, the projections are alternately arranged on the circumference in the rotation direction of the driving roll. Although the envelope cylindrical surfaces including the vertices of the projections bite each other, the distance between the envelope cylindrical surface and the opposing surface (cylindrical surface) of the drive roll is larger than the maximum thickness of the resin film. In the rotation direction (transport direction), at least one row of projections bends the resin film so that the driving force is constantly transmitted to the resin film.

Example 1 except that the projections were arranged as shown in FIG.
Lamination was performed under the same conditions using the same drive roll and resin sealing film as in the above. As a result, as in Example 1, wrinkles and uncoated portions did not occur in one roll, and the reliability was high. Example 3 FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the surface of the driving roll of another thin-film solar cell module manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3B is a sectional view (AA sectional view in FIG. 3A) of a plane including the rotation center of the drive roll and the apex of the protrusion, and FIG. Sectional view (BB in (a)) of the roll in the direction of rotation
FIG.

The projections are plate-like or rod-like along a straight line that forms a cylindrical surface, and are alternately arranged on the circumference in the rotation direction of the drive roll. Although the envelope cylindrical surfaces including the vertices of the projections bite each other, the distance between the envelope cylindrical surface and the opposing surface (cylindrical surface) of the drive roll is larger than the maximum thickness of the resin sealing film. Rotation direction (transport direction)
In, at least one row of projections bends the resin film so that the driving force is always transmitted to the resin film.

A stainless steel cylinder having a radius of 1.5 mm was mounted at an interval of 10 mm according to the arrangement of FIG.
Lamination was performed in the same manner as in Example 1. As a result, as in Example 1, wrinkles and uncoated portions did not occur in one roll, and the reliability was high. Comparative Example Lamination was performed using the same resin sealing film without attaching any protrusions to a drive roll having the same dimensions as in Example 1. In order to prevent wrinkles from occurring, the transport speed was set to 3 mm / min. However, every 20 m to 45 m of transport resulted in misalignment or unevenness that caused wrinkles or uncovered parts.
The apparatus was stopped, and the position of the resin sealing film was adjusted.

[0018]

According to the present invention, the resin sealing film made of EVA is taken out from the unwinding roll by being sandwiched between two drive rolls, sent to the heating and pressing roll, and is subjected to the flexibility by the heating and pressing roll. In a thin-film solar cell module manufacturing apparatus having a mechanism for laminating a resin sealing film on a thin-film solar cell sub-module having a photoelectric conversion element formed on a substrate, the positions of the driving rolls are different from each other on the surface of each of the driving rolls. Many projections,
The resin sealing film is bent by these projections, and the driving force is transmitted to the resin sealing film by being hooked, so that the resin sealing film is conveyed.
Since a large number of projections on each surface side are bent by the projections meshing with each other and hooked on the projections, and since the resin sealing film does not reach the surface of the drive roll, that is, does not touch, the position where the hooking and the depth are made. It does not affect the thickness of the resin sealing film. That is, regardless of the thickness unevenness of the resin sealing film, the transport driving force has a uniform density in the lateral direction, no lateral displacement occurs, and no wrinkles or uncovered portions occur. Therefore, the yield is improved, the transfer speed can be increased, and the mass productivity is improved. Further, the internal stress is reduced, and the reliability of the thin-film solar cell module is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are enlarged views of the vicinity of the surface of a driving roll of a thin-film solar cell module manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, wherein FIG. FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of a plane including the rotation center of FIG. 5A and the apex of the projection, and FIG.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the surface of a driving roll of another thin-film solar cell module manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, wherein (a) is an arrangement diagram of protrusions on a tangent plane of two driving rolls, and (b). FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a plane including the rotation center of the driving roll and the apex of the projection, and FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view of a rotation direction surface including the apex of the projection of the driving roll.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the surface of a driving roll of another thin-film solar cell module manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, wherein (a) is an arrangement diagram of protrusions on a tangent plane of two driving rolls, and (b). FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a plane including the rotation center of the drive roll and the apex of the protrusion, and FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of an outline of a conventional roll-to-roll type thin film solar cell module manufacturing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a relationship between a driving roll and a resin sealing film of a conventional roll-to-roll type thin film solar cell manufacturing apparatus, including a shaft of the driving roll.

[Explanation of symbols]

 F1 Thin film solar cell submodule F2 Resin sealing film F3 Release film Fm Thin film solar cell module R1 Winding roll R2 Winding roll R31 Winding roll Rd1 Drive roll Rd2 Drive roll Rh1 Heat press roll Rh2 Heat press roll R32 Roll Roll Rm Take-up roll R33 Peeling roll T1 Projection (of drive roll Rd1) Projection T2 (of drive roll Rd2) Projection envelope S2 (of drive roll Rd1) Envelope surface of projection (of drive roll Rd2) Fa (resin sealing) Fu) (Thick part of resin sealing film)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A resin sealing film made of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) is unwound from a winding roll, pulled out by two driving rolls, sent to a heating and pressing roll, and then is supplied to a flexible substrate by the heating and pressing roll. In a thin-film solar cell module manufacturing apparatus having a mechanism for laminating a resin sealing film on a thin-film solar cell sub-module having a photoelectric conversion element formed thereon, the positions of the driving rolls are different from each other on the surface of each of the driving rolls. An apparatus for manufacturing a thin-film solar cell module, comprising: a plurality of projections; a driving force transmitted to the resin sealing film by bending and hooking the resin sealing film by the projections; 2. The enveloping surface of each of the apexes of the projections of the two drive rolls (sharing an axis with each drive roll) is engaged with each other, and the distance between the two enveloping surfaces and the one of the enveloping surfaces is different. 2. The roll-type module manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the envelope surface of the driving roll and the surface of the other driving roll exceeds the maximum thickness of the resin sealing film. 3. The roll system according to claim 2, wherein the projections of the respective drive rolls are arranged so as to alternately contact the resin sealing film in the transport direction between the two drive rolls. Module manufacturing equipment. 4. The drive roll according to claim 2, wherein the protrusions of each of the drive rolls are arranged so as to alternately contact the resin sealing film in the axial direction of the drive roll between the two drive rolls. Roll type module manufacturing equipment. 5. The roll-type module manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion has a hemispherical apex. 6. The protrusion of each of the drive rolls is a straight rod having a semi-cylindrical apex, and is arranged so as to alternately contact the resin sealing film in the transport direction between the two drive rolls. The apparatus for manufacturing a thin-film solar cell module according to claim 1.