JP2013139044A - Soldering device of tab lead for solar cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a soldering device of a tab lead for a solar cell, which does not generate cell cracks even if the solar cell is thin, and can perform soldering of the solar cell and the tab lead even on the upper surface or the lower surface of the solar cell or both the upper and lower surfaces in a stable state with excellent soldering quality.SOLUTION: A soldering device 100 of a tab lead for solar cell which connects a solar cell 10 and the tab lead is configured to include a preheating portion 60 and a soldering portion 70, wherein the preheating portion is equipped with a preheating means H which preheats the solar cell and the tab lead and a correcting means which corrects the tab lead, the soldering portion is equipped with a heating means which heats the solar cell and the tab lead, a tab lead pressing means 90 arranged along the tab lead arranged on the one surface side of the solar cell, a holding means which holds the tab lead arranged on the opposite surface of the solar cell and the solar cell, and a lifting means which lifts up and down the holding means.

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a solar cell tab lead soldering device, and more specifically, when a solar cell is formed into a string by arranging a plurality of solar cells and soldering the tab lead, the tab lead is connected to each solar cell. The present invention relates to a solar cell tab lead soldering apparatus that can securely hold and solder.

  Conventionally, a plurality of solar cells are arranged in series and adjacent solar cells are electrically connected with tab leads to form a string. In this process, tab leads are soldered to each solar cell. The method of connecting by attaching is adopted.

  Generally, the connection between the solar cell and the tab lead by soldering is performed by soldering the electrode part on the surface of the solar cell for soldering or by coating the tab lead with the solar cell. And soldering while pressing the tab lead against the solar cell surface.

  As a solar cell tab lead soldering device, a tab lead pressing member is arranged in a direction along the conveying direction of the solar cell and the tab lead, and this member is moved by a belt while being synchronously moved by the belt to the conveying of the solar cell and the tab lead. There has been proposed one in which a pressing force is applied to a tab lead (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In the production of solar cells, the cost of solar cells occupies a large weight, and recently, in order to reduce the cost, the number of cells with a reduced cell thickness has increased. For this reason, the cells are easily broken, and it is important to reduce the damage of the cells in the soldering process.

However, in a thin solar cell, there is distortion in the solar cell, and the solar cell is greatly distorted during heating or cooling. The distortion occurs at a level of several millimeters when it is large. In such a case, in the conventional solar cell tab lead soldering apparatus, it is difficult to perform soldering by positioning the solar cell and the tab lead at regular positions.

JP 2000-22188 A JP 2004-39856 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems seen in the conventional soldering of solar cells and tab leads as described above. Even if the solar cells are thin, soldering between the solar cells and the tab leads does not cause cell cracking. It is an object of the present invention to provide a solar cell tab lead soldering device that can perform soldering quality in a good and stable state even on the upper surface or lower surface of the solar battery cell, or on both upper and lower surfaces. .

The soldering device of the first invention made for the purpose of solving the above problems is a solar cell tab lead soldering device for connecting a solar cell and a tab lead, comprising a preheating part and a soldering part, The preheating unit includes preheating means for preheating the solar battery cells and the tab leads, and correction means for correcting the tab leads, and the soldering part is disposed on one side of the solar battery cells, heating means for heating the solar battery cells and the tab leads. A tab lead pressing means arranged along the tab lead, a tab lead arranged on the opposite surface of the solar battery cell, a holding means for holding the solar battery cell, and an elevating means for raising and lowering the holding means. It is characterized by.
According to 1st invention, even if it is a photovoltaic cell with a thin soldering object, soldering of a photovoltaic cell and a tab lead can be performed reliably, without producing a cell crack.

The soldering apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the elevating means of the holding means for the solar battery cell and the tab lead is an elevating mechanism using an eccentric cam.
According to the second invention, when soldering, it is necessary to raise the solar cell and the tab lead placed on the holding means, and the eccentric cam is used as the raising / lowering mechanism. The speed is zero, there is no impact at the time of stop, and there is no displacement between the solar cells placed on the holding means and the tab leads. Therefore, soldering can be performed at an accurate position.

A soldering apparatus according to a third invention is characterized in that, in the first invention or the second invention, the holding means for the solar battery cell and the tab lead includes a porous plate.
According to the third invention, the holding means is a porous plate, and can be vacuum-gradely applied over the entire surface of the solar battery cell placed on the porous board. Therefore, even if the thin solar battery cell is heated by the heating means, There is no warping during soldering. Therefore, soldering can be performed at an accurate position.

The soldering device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the soldering apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the tab lead correcting means of the preheating means has a groove through which the tab lead can be inserted into the plate member for preheating the solar battery cell and the tab lead. It is provided.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to correct the curl of the tab lead that has been wound in a reel shape, and to correct the shape so that it sits well on the bus bar on the solar battery cell.

The soldering apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the soldering device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the tab lead pressing means is a plurality of bar-shaped members, and each bar-shaped member can be replaced with the main body of the pressing means by a one-touch method. It features a simple mounting structure.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the tab lead pressing means is a plurality of rod-shaped members that can be replaced by a one-touch type. Therefore, even if the tip end of the rod-shaped member is damaged during soldering and an indentation-like scratch is generated at the soldering portion of the tab lead due to soldering, replacement can be performed immediately.

The soldering apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the soldering apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, further comprising a flux applying portion that applies a flux to the soldering portion when the tab lead is soldered to the solar battery cell. Features.
According to the sixth invention, the flux is applied to the soldered portions of the solar battery cells and the tab lead by the flux applying portion, so that the soldering can be surely performed.

A soldering apparatus according to a seventh aspect is characterized in that, in the sixth aspect, a flux suction device or a recovery device is provided.
According to the seventh aspect, since the flux suction device or the recovery device is provided, the flux is filled in the device, and the flux adheres to the inner surface of the acrylic transparent cover provided on the side surface of the device. The inside condition can be confirmed and maintenance is improved.

The front view of the whole apparatus which shows one Example of the soldering apparatus of the tab lead for solar cells of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the raising / lowering mechanism of the pre-heating means and holding | maintenance means of the soldering apparatus of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the preheating means and holding | maintenance means of the soldering apparatus of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the tab lead pressing means of the soldering apparatus of this invention. Explanatory drawing of the flux application | coating means of the soldering apparatus of this invention. Explanatory drawing of a photovoltaic cell. The top view of the string which connected the plurality of photovoltaic cells in series. The side view of the string which connected the plurality of photovoltaic cells in series. The schematic diagram of a soldering process. The schematic diagram of a soldering process. The schematic diagram of a soldering process. The schematic diagram of a soldering process. The schematic diagram of a soldering process.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a soldering device for a solar cell tab lead according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the attached drawings, FIG. 1 is a front view of the entire apparatus showing an embodiment of a solar cell tab lead soldering apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an elevation mechanism of a preheating means and a holding means of the soldering apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of preheating means and holding means of the soldering apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of tab lead pressing means of the soldering apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a flux of the soldering apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a coating means, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a solar cell, FIG. 7 is a plan view of a string in which a plurality of solar cells are connected in series, and FIG. 8 is a string in which a plurality of solar cells are connected in series. FIG. 9 to 13 are schematic views of the soldering process.

  First, the string manufactured by the solar cell soldering apparatus of the present invention will be described.

  The solar cell is configured as follows. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a plurality of solar cells 10 are connected by tab leads 15 to form a string W. It is obtained by sandwiching a plurality of strings connected by lead wires with a sealing material, and further laminating the both surfaces between a transparent substrate such as glass and a back material such as PET resin and heating them in a vacuum. It is done. The string is used for manufacturing such a solar cell.

  Such a string is obtained by soldering the solar battery cell 10 and the tab lead 15 and connecting them. The soldering process will be briefly described. The solar cell 10 and the tab lead 15 are connected by arranging the tab lead 15 previously coated with solder on the solar cell in a polymerized manner and heating the superposed portion for soldering.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view of a state in which a plurality of solar cells 10 are arranged in a string shape with tab leads 15 as viewed from the front connection electrode side (hereinafter referred to as the front side). FIG. 8 is a side view of a state in which a plurality of solar cells 10 are arranged in a string shape with tab leads 15 as viewed from the side. FIG. 6 is a view of the solar battery cell 10 as viewed from the front surface side and the back surface side.

  The tab lead 15 may be configured in two rows for one solar cell 10 or may be in three rows. In the description of the present embodiment, the tab lead 15 will be described as having a two-row configuration with respect to one solar battery cell 10. In the solar cell tab lead soldering apparatus according to the present invention, the tab lead 15 can be applied to one solar cell 10 having a three-row configuration.

  The solar battery cell 10 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape having a thickness of approximately 0.16 mm. As shown to Fig.6 (a), the two front side connection electrodes 11 are provided in the front side of the photovoltaic cell 10 which concerns on this embodiment over one side which opposes the photovoltaic cell 10. As shown in FIG. Further, on the front side of the solar battery cell 10, a plurality of finger portions 13 are provided from one side to the opposite side of the solar battery cell 10 so as to be orthogonal to the front-side connection electrode 11. Moreover, as shown in FIG.6 (b), on the back side of the photovoltaic cell 10, the two back side connection electrodes 12 ranging over the one side which opposes from the one side of the photovoltaic cell 10 similarly to the front side connection electrode 11, Is provided. The front side connection electrode 11 and the back side connection electrode 12 are coated with solder for soldering to the tab lead 15. Hereinafter, the front side connection electrode 11 and the back side connection electrode 12 will be referred to as a bus bar 11 and a bus bar 12.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the tab lead 15 is a lead wire, and is formed in a strip-like flat plate shape having a thickness of approximately 0.2 mm. The tab lead 15 is formed using copper, and the surface thereof is coated with solder for soldering to the bus bar 11 and the bus bar 12.

  By soldering, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a plurality of solar cells 10 are arranged in a string form with tab leads 15. Specifically, the solar cells 10 are arranged at a predetermined interval, and one (front side) of the tab leads 15 is placed on the bus bar 11 of the solar cells 10 so as to overlap the tab leads 15. The other (rear side) is placed on the bus bar 12 of the adjacent solar battery cell 10 so as to overlap. In the present embodiment, adjacent solar cells 10 are connected by two tab leads 15. Here, the distance between the centers of the two tab leads 15 is D (see FIG. 7).

  The bus bar and the tab lead 15 of the solar cell 10 are coated by heating and pressing the overlapping portion where the solar cells 10 and the tab leads 15 arranged in a string are superposed by the soldering device 100. The solder melts and the solar battery cell 10 and the tab lead 15 are electrically connected.

  Next, the details of the solar cell tab lead soldering apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, this solar cell tab lead soldering apparatus includes a stocker ST in which solar cells 10 are stacked, a cell supply unit (device) 20, a tab lead supply unit 30, a flux application unit 40, a transport unit 50, The preheating part 60, the soldering part (holding means) 70, the raising / lowering part 80, the tab lead pressing part 90, the tab lead heating means H, and the cooling part C are comprised. These components are provided on the base 101 of the apparatus. Moreover, this apparatus can also be comprised including the flux suction part 200. FIG. Furthermore, it is possible to employ a configuration in which a flux recovery device is provided.

  Here, each component will be briefly described. First, the solar cell supply unit 20 supplies the solar cell 10 to the transport unit 50. The tab lead supply unit 30 straightens and bends the lead wire L, cuts it to a predetermined length, manufactures the tab lead 15, and supplies it to the soldering unit 70. At this time, the solar battery cell supply unit 20, the tab lead supply unit 30, and the transport unit 50 operate in cooperation, so that the solar battery cell 10 and the tab lead 15 are connected and arranged as shown in FIGS.

  The conveyance unit 50 is positioned and fixed (vacuum suction) between the solar battery cell 10 and the tab lead 15, and is changed from a preheating unit to a soldering unit and a subsequent cooling unit C (corresponding to the cooling unit in FIGS. 9 to 13). Transport. In the preheating part, the solar battery cell and the lower tab bleed are preheated before soldering with an electric heater or hot air incorporated in a temporary plate described later. In the soldering portion, the soldered portions of the solar cells 10 and the tab leads 15 to be soldered are heated by hot air from the heating means H and pressed by the pressing member of the tab lead pressing portion 90 for soldering. The cooling unit C cools the soldered solar battery cell 10 and the tab lead 15 and solidifies the overlapping part of the solar battery cell 10 and the tab lead 15.

  According to the soldering apparatus 100 of the present invention, each of the above-described components can be soldered to the solar battery cell 10 and the tab lead 15 with high efficiency, either alone or in cooperation with each other. Hereinafter, a specific configuration and operation process of each component will be described in detail.

<Solar cell supply unit 20>
The solar cell supply unit 20 performs a step of supplying the solar cell 10 to the transport unit 50.
As shown in FIG. 1, solar cells are supplied to a transport unit 50 by a cell supply unit (device) 20. The cell supply device 20 can move the solar cells from the stocker ST in which the solar cells 10 before being soldered are accommodated in a stacked manner to the transport unit 50. Specifically, the cell supply device 20 is a robot or the like, and after each photovoltaic cell 10 is sucked from the stocker by a robot hand, it is placed at a predetermined position on the transport belt 51 of the transport unit 50. To do.

<Tab lead supply unit 30>
The tab lead supply unit 30 performs a step of supplying the tab lead 15 that has been straightened, bent, and cut to a predetermined length to the transport unit 50 (soldering unit 70).
The tab lead supply unit 30 is provided with a tab lead loading device for placing the tab lead 15, which is formed by bending and cutting the tab lead 15 having a predetermined length, on the solar battery cell 10 to be soldered on the transport belt 51. Here, this tab lead loading device is not shown. Detailed description is omitted.

Next, a manufacturing method of the tab lead 15 used for soldering will be described with reference to FIG. The tab lead chuck 36 pulls the lead wire L from the reel 32 and holds it in a horizontal state. Next, it clamps with the clamp 35 and performs tension correction processing with the chuck 36. As a result, the shape of the lead wire L wound around the reel 32 is straightened. The portion where the lead wire is subsequently cut is bent and formed into a Z shape by sandwiching the lead wire L between the upper die and the lower die of the bending portion 33.
Further, the bent lead wire is pulled to a substantially broken line position by the chuck 36 and is cut to a predetermined length by the cutter 34 while being clamped to the clamp 35. In this way, the tab lead 15 for soldering the solar battery cell 10 is manufactured.

  The tab lead 15 for soldering cut to the predetermined length is a bus bar on the solar battery cell 10 placed on the soldering part 70 in the post process of the preheating part in FIG. 1 by a tab lead loading device (not shown). 11 is set. The detailed placement state is as shown in FIG.

<Flux application part 40>
The solar cell 10 adsorbed from the stocker of the cell supply unit prevents oxidation of the soldered portion of the bus bar 11 and the bus bar 12 of the solar cell 10 by the flux application unit 40 before being supplied to the transport unit 50. The flux F is applied. As shown in FIG. 5, in the flux application part 40, two flux application nozzles 41 are arranged at the same interval as the width D in FIG. 7 on the front surface side and the back surface side of the solar battery cell. Fig.5 (a) is a front view, FIG.5 (b) is the side view of Fig.5 (a) seen from the moving direction of the photovoltaic cell. In this embodiment, the nozzle 41 is fixed during the coating operation, and the solar battery cell is moved by the cell supply device 20 as shown in FIG. 5A to apply the flux F to a predetermined part of the solar battery cell. . When the coating operation is completed, the nozzle 41 is retracted (for example, in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5B) so as not to hinder the movement for placing the solar battery cell on the transport unit 50.

<Conveyor 50>
The conveyance part 50 performs the process of carrying intermittently to the preheating part 60, the soldering part 70, and the cooling part C, positioning the photovoltaic cell 10 and the tab lead 15 in the state arrange | positioned at string form.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the conveyance unit 50 includes a conveyance belt 51, conveyance rollers 55a and 55b, a suction device 56, and the like. The conveyor belt 51 is wound around a conveyor roller 55a disposed near the preheating unit 60 and a conveyor roller 55b disposed near the cooling unit C. The conveyor belt 51 is a thin flat belt. Further, when a roller driving device (not shown) connected to the rotation shafts of the transport rollers 55a and 55b is driven, the respective transport rollers 55a and 55b are rotated in the arrow direction. The solar cells 10 placed on the transport surface 52 of the transport belt 51 are transported in the order of the preheating unit 60, the soldering unit 70, and the cooling unit C by the rotation of the transport rollers 55a and 55b. The tab lead to be soldered is soldered to the solar battery cell and conveyed along with the movement of the solar battery cell.

  Further, the suction device 56 is disposed below the conveyance surface 52 of the conveyance belt 51 over the longitudinal direction of the conveyance belt 51. The suction device 56 can position the photovoltaic cells 10 and the tab leads 15 placed on the transport surface 52 by attracting them to the transport belt 51.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the transport belt 51 of this embodiment is provided in two rows. Two rows of suction devices 56 are also provided. In the transport belt 51, a plurality of cell suction holes (not shown) are continuously formed in the circumferential direction. The vicinity of both ends in the width direction of the solar battery cell is vacuum-sucked by the suction device 56 and intermittently conveyed at a predetermined pitch.

<Preheating unit 60>
The preheating unit 60 performs a step of preheating the solar cell 10 placed at a predetermined position of the transport unit 50 and the tab lead 15 placed by the tab lead roaching device in the cell supply device 20. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the preheating unit 60. 3A is a plan view, and FIG. 3B is a side view. As shown in FIG. 3, the preheating unit 60 is provided with a temporary plate 61. A heating plate 63 containing an electric heater is provided below the temporary placement plate 61, and preheats solar cells and tab leads (X portion in FIG. 9) to be soldered at the soldering portion. The temporary plate is provided with a groove 62 for accommodating the tab lead 15 at the same distance D as the solar cell bus bar. The width of the groove 62 is narrow at the end side in the transport direction of the solar battery cell. The tab lead accommodated in the tapered groove is conveyed to the soldering portion without being displaced with the movement of the solar cell placed on the upper portion.

  The temporary placement plate 61 is waiting to be lowered, and is lifted together with the holding plate 71 of the soldering portion by the elevating portion 80 of FIG. 2 when soldering at the soldering portion.

<Soldering part 70>
The soldering part 70 will be described with reference to FIG. The soldering part 70 is located next to the preheating part 60. The soldering unit 70 cooperates with the preheating unit 60 to hold the solar battery cell 10 and the tab lead 15 placed at predetermined positions on the holding plate 71 and perform soldering. When soldering, the operation of the lifting unit 80 in FIG. 2 raises the holding plate together with the temporary plate, the tab lead holding unit 90 waiting on the lower side sandwiches the solar cell and the tab lead, At the same time, the heating means H waiting upward is also lowered to heat the soldering portion and perform soldering.

  The holding plate 71 of the soldering portion 70 is a porous body made of ceramics. The holding plate 71 is provided on the vacuum chamber 72 of the vacuum suction device. When the vacuum chamber is evacuated, the entire surface of the holding plate 71 is evacuated and the solar cells and tab leads being soldered are adsorbed to the holding plate. Thereby, even if a photovoltaic cell is heated by the hot air during soldering, the photovoltaic cell does not float from the holding plate. Therefore, it is possible to reliably solder at an accurate position. When the soldering is completed, the holding plate and the temporary placement plate are lowered by the operation of the elevating unit 80 in FIG. 2, and the soldered solar cell is placed on the conveyor belt 51 and vacuum-sucked by the operation of the conveyor unit 50. It is conveyed intermittently at a predetermined pitch.

<Elevating part 80>
The elevating unit 80 performs an operation of raising the solar cells and the tab leads placed on the preheating unit 60 and the soldering unit 70 at the time of soldering and lowering them after the soldering is completed. The raising / lowering part 80 is arrange | positioned under the preheating part and the soldering part. The configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 2A is a front view seen from a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, and FIG. 2B is a side view of FIG. 2A seen from the transport direction. FIG.2 (c) is an enlarged view of the Y section of FIG.2 (b). The temporary plate 61 and the heating plate 63 and the upper plate 810 on which the soldering plate holding plate 71 and the vacuum chamber 72 are placed are moved up and down by converting the advancing / retreating operation of the air cylinder A into a lifting operation.

  The upper plate 810 of the elevating part is installed via the mounting plate 820. The mounting plate 820 is mounted via the base 101, the base plate 830, and the block 831 of the apparatus. A height adjusting block 831 is provided between the mounting plate 820 and the base plate 830. The upper plate 810 is guided by a guide bar 821 provided on the mounting plate 820 and a guide block 811 provided on the upper plate 810, and moves up and down. In this embodiment, four sets of guide bars and guide blocks are provided.

  A rotating shaft 823 supported by two supports 822 provided on the mounting plate 820 is provided. At both ends of the rotating shaft 823, roller bearings 824 are provided that are eccentric with the central axis of the rotating shaft by an eccentric amount E. A gear 825 is provided on the rotating shaft. The gear 825 meshes with the rack R connected to the rod at the tip of the air cylinder A. The rack R is supported so as to mesh with the gear and advance and retreat in the same manner as the air cylinder advance and retreat operation. Two blocks 812 each having a groove K (see FIG. 2C) having a width substantially equal to the diameter of the roller bearing 824 are provided on the lower surface of the upper plate 810. The roller bearings 824 at both ends of the rotating shaft 823 are fitted in the groove K. The above is the configuration of the elevating unit 80.

  The elevating unit 80 operates as follows. When the air cylinder A moves back and forth, the rack R moves forward and backward, and when the gear 825 engaged with the rack R rotates and the rotating shaft 823 rotates, the roller bearings 824 at both ends of the rotating shaft 823 are eccentric with respect to the rotating shaft. Therefore, it rises and falls with a stroke twice the eccentric amount E. With such a configuration of the elevating part, the ascending speed and descending speed are zero at the ascending end and descending end, there is no impact at the time of stopping, and the solar cells and tab leads adsorbed on the holding plate 71 of the soldering part There is no misalignment. Therefore, the solar cell and the tab lead can be soldered at a predetermined position. The roller bearing 824 may be a cam-shaped body having an eccentricity E.

<Tab lead presser 90>
As shown in FIG. 1, the tab lead pressing portion 90 is provided on a stand SD standing on the base 101 of the apparatus so as to be lifted and lowered. The tab lead pressing portion 90 stands by at the upper part of the soldering portion 70 and descends at the time of soldering, and the solar cells placed on the soldering portion are pressed against the tab lead holding plate 71 and the tip of the pressing member 93. Soldering is performed by stagnation with the child 94 by the heating means H. When the soldering is completed, the tab lead presser 90 and the heating means H rise so as not to hinder the movement of the soldered solar cells and the supply of the tab leads.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the presser part 90 is provided with a plurality of through holes in the presser part main body 91. A sleeve 92 is inserted into the through hole. A pressing member 93 is inserted on the inner surface side of the sleeve. The presser member 93 is provided with a positioning collar so that the length of each presser member becomes substantially constant during replacement. Further, the presser member has a spring built therein so that the pressing member 94 at the tip is in contact with the tab lead uniformly. The presser 94 of the tab lead pressing portion presses the soldered portion of the tab lead as shown in FIG. The number of pressing members 93 is six in FIGS. 1 and 4 and the like, but can be appropriately changed depending on the size of the solar battery cell or the tab lead.

<Heating means H>
As the heating means H, for example, a hot air heater or an IR lamp can be used. As shown in FIG. 1, the heating means is provided on a stand SD standing on the base 101 of the apparatus so as to be lifted and lowered. It waits in the upper part of the soldering part 70, it falls at the time of soldering, hot air etc. are supplied to a soldering part, and a soldering part is heated more than the melting temperature of solder. When the soldering is completed, the soldered solar battery cell moves up and the tab lead is supplied without any hindrance.

<Cooling part C>
The cooling unit C performs a process of cooling the soldered solar battery cell 10 and the tab lead 15. As shown in FIG. 3, the cooling unit C includes a cooling device (not shown). The cooling device cools the solar cells 10 and the tab leads 15 that are intermittently conveyed from the soldering unit 70 by blowing cool air. The cooling device can also blow room temperature air as cold air. Furthermore, it is possible to blow cold air of 0 ° C. or lower.

<Flux suction part 200>
In FIG. 1, among the components of the soldering apparatus 100 of the present invention, a tab lead supply unit 30, a flux application unit 40, a transport unit 50, a preheating unit 60, a soldering unit (holding means) 70, a tab lead pressing unit 90, and The tab lead heating means H is covered with a transparent cover 102 provided on the base 101 of the apparatus. In the transparent cover 102, the flux applied during soldering is scattered and floating. Such a flux adheres to the inside of the transparent cover, deteriorates the transparency of the transparent cover, and reduces the maintainability of the apparatus. In order to prevent this, the flux suction part 200 is provided. A dust collection hood 201 is provided on the upper part of the cover 102 of this apparatus, and the suction part 200 is connected by a duct 202. As a result, it is possible to suck and remove the flux scattered and floating in the transparent cover during soldering.

  In addition to the suction function, the flux suction unit can be configured to incorporate a hepa filter or the like in the suction unit 200, solidify the flux in the filter, and use the solid flux again.

  The above is description of each part of the soldering apparatus 100 of this invention. The soldering process will be described below.

<Description of soldering process>
9 to 13 are schematic views of the soldering process. The tab lead soldering process by the solar cell soldering apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 9 shows a state where soldering is completed for the solar battery cell 10B, the tab lead 15A (lower side), and the tab lead 15B (upper side) in the soldering portion 70. Next to the soldering portion 70, the already soldered solar battery cell 10A, the tab lead 15A (upper side), and the tab lead (lower side) are intermittently conveyed and cooled by the cooling unit C. In this state, the tab lead receiving groove 62 of the temporary plate 61 of the preheating unit 60 is connected to the upper surface of the solar battery cell 10B and the lower side of the solar battery cell to be soldered next to the soldered tab lead 15B. Part (X part) is inserted. In this state, as shown in FIG. 10, the solar battery cell 10 </ b> C is arranged at a predetermined position of the preheating unit 60 by the cell supply device. At this time, the bus bar 12 of the solar battery cell 10C is in a positional relationship facing the tab lead 15B.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the solar battery cell 10 </ b> C of the preheating unit 60 is adsorbed by the adsorption device by the conveyance belt 51 and conveyed to the soldering unit 70 at a predetermined conveyance pitch. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 12, two rows of tab leads 15C are placed on the bus bar 11 of the solar battery cell by the tab lead loading device. After that, as shown in FIG. 13, the solar battery cell 10 </ b> C, the tab lead 15 </ b> C, and the tab lead 15 </ b> B are sandwiched and pressed between the raised holding plate 71 and the pressing member 94 at the lower end of the pressing member 93. Soldering is performed by blowing hot air to the attaching part 70 and heating it. Next, when the soldering is finished, the holding plate 71 and the temporary placement plate 61 are lowered, the pressing member 93 and the heating means are raised, and the state returns to the state shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, the tab lead 15 is soldered to the solar battery cell 10 by repeating the steps described with reference to FIGS. The solar cell 10 has a positive electrode on the upper surface and a negative electrode on the lower surface. By thus arranging the solar cell and the tab lead and soldering, the solar cells can be connected in series and the string W can be manufactured.

As mentioned above, according to the soldering apparatus 100 mentioned above, since the photovoltaic cell 10 and the tab lead 15 can be soldered in a short time, production efficiency improves. Moreover, according to the soldering apparatus 100 described above, since the solar cells 10 and the tab leads 15 can be accurately positioned and soldered, the yield can be greatly improved.

10: Solar cell 11: Front side connection electrode (bus bar)
12: Back side connection electrode (bus bar)
13: Finger part 15: Tab lead 20: Cell supply device 30: Tab lead supply part 32: Supply reel 33: Bending molding part 34: Cutting part 35, 36: Chuck part 40: Flux application part 41: Nozzle 50: Conveying part 51: Conveying belt 52: Conveying surface 56: Adsorption device 60: Preheating unit 61: Temporary plate 62: Housing groove 63: Heating plate 64: Heater 70: Soldering unit 71: Holding plate 72: Vacuum chamber 80: Elevating unit 90: Tab lead Presser part 100: Soldering apparatus 101: Base 200: Flux suction part (suction apparatus)
201: Hood 202: Duct H: Heating means C: Cooling unit W: String

Claims (7)

A solar cell tab lead soldering device for connecting a solar cell and a tab lead,
It has a preheating part and a soldering part,
The preheating part includes preheating means for preheating the solar battery cells and the tab leads and a correcting means for correcting the tab leads. The soldering part is arranged on one side of the solar battery cells, and heating means for heating the solar battery cells and the tab leads. A tab lead holding means arranged along the tab lead, a tab lead arranged on the opposite surface of the solar battery cell, a holding means for holding the solar battery cell, and a lifting means for raising and lowering the holding means. A solar cell tab lead soldering device.   The soldering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elevating means of the holding means for the solar battery cell and the tab lead is an elevating mechanism using an eccentric cam.   The soldering apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the holding means for the solar battery cell and the tab lead includes a porous plate.   The solder according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tab lead correcting means of the preheating means is provided with a groove through which the tab lead can be inserted in a plate-like member for preheating the solar battery cell and the tab lead. Attachment device.   5. The tab lead pressing means includes a plurality of bar-shaped members, and each of the bar-shaped members has a mounting structure that can be exchanged with the main body of the pressing means by a one-touch method. The soldering device described.   The soldering apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a flux application part that applies a flux to the soldering part when the tab lead is soldered to the solar battery cell.   The soldering device according to claim 6, further comprising a flux suction device or a recovery device.

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