JP3218879B2 - Method for electrically disconnecting end element of thin film photoelectric conversion module - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for electrically disconnecting an end element of a thin film photoelectric conversion module which can be used for installation on a roof for photovoltaic power generation and paving.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to obtain a desired current / voltage output using a photoelectric conversion element, a plurality of thin film photoelectric conversion elements are modularized. As such conventional modules, a glass-sealed crystalline silicon solar cell module and an amorphous silicon solar cell module formed on a glass substrate are known. In addition, it is possible to construct a solar cell roof by installing or laying these solar cell modules on a roof, for example, C.I.
Meier, A. Hasler and S.J. Stro
ng, Proc. 11th by RH Wills.
E.C. Photovoltaic Solar En
energy Conf., px1664-1667 and p1672-1675, respectively.

[0003]

However, in order to install or lay the above-mentioned solar cell module on a roof, a plurality of solar cell modules having a predetermined shape are combined with each other in the same shape. Roofs and structures must be covered. Generally, the dimensions of the roof and the shape of the structure are not designed according to the dimensions and the shape of the module. Although building materials and decorative boards can be cut, glass-sealed modules cannot be cut, so there is a problem in that when the modules are laid, excess ends protrude at the ends or the sheets cannot be cut. In addition, it is necessary to wire and connect all the modules, which requires considerable man-hours, and furthermore, the edges of the modules may be aesthetically pleasing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, to enable a plurality of thin film photoelectric conversion elements to be spread over the entire surface of an arbitrary area, to eliminate the need for wiring connection, and to have a beautiful appearance. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for electrically disconnecting an end element of a module.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a plurality of thin-film photoelectric elements are arranged in a longitudinal direction on a strip-shaped insulating substrate, and each element is electrically connected. It is connected in parallel, and both electrode terminals of each element are located at both side ends in the width direction of the substrate, and the end elements of the thin film photoelectric conversion module connected to the common wiring provided on both sides of the substrate are electrically separated. At least one of the electrode terminals of each element is a back electrode provided on the light incident surface side of the substrate and connected to an electrode on the light incident surface side of the substrate through a through hole formed in the substrate. Is connected to a common wiring, and the end element is electrically disconnected from the element inside the end element by punching out one common wiring between the two elements. Or,
A plurality of thin-film photoelectric elements are arranged in a longitudinal direction on a strip-shaped insulating substrate, each element is electrically connected in parallel, and both electrode terminals of each element are located at both side ends in the width direction of the substrate. A method for electrically disconnecting an end element of a thin film photoelectric conversion module connected to a common wiring provided on both sides of a substrate, wherein at least one of electrode terminals of each element is connected via a common wiring and a lead-in wiring. In the device, the electrical disconnection between the end element and the element inside the end element is performed by connecting the lead-in wiring between the end element and the common wiring, or the connection point between the lead-in wiring of both elements and the common wiring. This is performed by punching out a common wiring between them.
Alternatively, a plurality of thin film photoelectric elements are arranged in a longitudinal direction on a strip-shaped insulating substrate, each element is electrically connected in parallel, and both electrode terminals of each element are located at both ends in the width direction of the substrate. A method for electrically separating end elements of a thin-film photoelectric conversion module connected to a common wiring provided on both sides of a substrate, wherein at least one of the electrode terminals of each element is
A terminal connected to a common wiring and a lead-in wiring, and a part of the lead-in wiring is positioned parallel to the entire end parallel to the arrangement direction of the connected elements. Is electrically disconnected from the element by simultaneously cutting the end element and the lead-in wiring positioned parallel to the end element. In the above case, a region where one electrode terminal of each element is connected to the common wiring is preferably used as an overlap region when a plurality of thin film photoelectric conversion modules are partially overlapped. In particular, it is preferable that the thin film photoelectric conversion modules which are installed one by one be adhered in the overlapping area. Further, it is preferable that the ends of both the common wirings are exposed at one end of the end element opposite to the end at which the end element is electrically disconnected in the longitudinal direction of the substrate.

[0006]

When a plurality of thin-film photoelectric conversion elements are arranged in the longitudinal direction of a strip-shaped insulating substrate and both electrodes of each element are connected to a common wiring in order to connect the respective elements in parallel, the connection is required. Are likely to be invalid areas for photoelectric conversion. Therefore, if this connection area is placed on both sides of the substrate and is used as an overlapping area when, for example, partly overlapping for installation on an inclined roof or the like, the ratio of the effective area for photoelectric conversion in the exposed part increases. Providing the bonding means in the overlapping area is advantageous for fixing the modules while overlapping. If the substrate is a flexible film and sealed between a protective film with weather resistance and waterproofness, the module has a roofing mechanism,
Can be installed on the roof as it is. The electrode terminal of each element may be a back electrode described in Japanese Patent Application No. 5-220870. If a lead-in wiring is used to connect the electrode terminal and the common wiring, and the lead-in wiring is positioned parallel to the entire end parallel to the arrangement direction of the connected elements,
When a module is cut into a predetermined shape that matches the shape of the roof, etc., even if the cutting line crosses the element and a short-circuit defect occurs, the defective portion is separated as it is by cutting the lead-in wiring at the same time. . Even if the defective element is separated by punching out the other part of the lead-in wiring or by punching out a part of the common wiring, if it is within the overlapping area, another module overlaps on top of the defective wiring. No exposure. Therefore, no matter where the module is cut, the element having the short-circuit defect can be electrically separated. Exposing the common wiring to at least one end of the module in the substrate longitudinal direction facilitates connection between the modules.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention; 1 and 2 show a thin-film photoelectric conversion module applied to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view as viewed from a light incident side, and FIG. 2 is a plan view as viewed from a light incident side. The thin film photoelectric conversion element 1 is formed by forming an amorphous silicon thin film having a pin junction between a transparent electrode and a metal electrode on a film substrate, and a plurality of the element 1 are placed on a surface protection film 21 in FIG. Not shown ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EV
A) is arranged via a heat-adhesive resin, and one terminal of each element is connected to the common wiring 31 via the lead-in wiring 4, and the other terminal is directly connected to the common wiring 32. Next, it is sandwiched by the back surface protective film 22 via the heat-adhesive resin 5, heated and laminated. Back protective film 22
Does not need to be translucent, and a white film (trade name of DuPont Tetra) in which aluminum foil is sandwiched by polyvinyl fluoride (PVE) or the like can be used. On the other hand, the surface protection film 21 on the light incident side is required to be translucent, and is covered with a weather-resistant film made of a fluororesin, SiO ₂ or the like, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN). A transparent and weather-resistant film such as a resin such as a cardo polymer is used. This allows the module to have a roofing function. In such a module, the common wiring 3
1 and the area where the lead-in wirings 4 are present have an ineffective area for photoelectric conversion.
If the end of a similar module is placed on top of it and it is laid on the roof, the entire exposed area becomes an effective area for photoelectric conversion.
Also, if the common wiring 31 of the lower module and the common wiring 32 of the upper module are connected by using the overlapping margin 6 without the photoelectric conversion element 1, a defect occurs on the light receiving surface due to the connection work. There is no fear. In addition, if the back surface protection film 22 which can be seen through the adhesive resin 5 between the photoelectric conversion elements 1 from above is colored as necessary to have a similar color to the photoelectric conversion elements 1, it is useful for improving the beauty of the roof.

FIG. 3 is a plan view seen from the light incident side, and FIG. 4 is a plan view seen from the light incident side. In the thin film photoelectric conversion element module applied to another embodiment of the present invention, the thin film conversion element A back electrode 7 is formed on the back surface of the film substrate 1 and is connected to a terminal electrode on the light incident side surface through a through hole of the substrate. This back electrode 7 is directly connected to the common wiring 31 without using a lead-in wiring. FIG. 4 viewed from the light incident side is the same as FIG.

When a photoelectric conversion module having such a roofing function is installed on a structure such as a roof, it is necessary to cut one end to match the shape. There is no problem if this cutting is performed at a portion between the elements 1. However, when the cutting is performed across the element 1, a short circuit occurs between both electrodes sandwiching the semiconductor thin film at the cut portion, and the performance of the entire module is reduced. Is reduced. Therefore, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the module connected to the common wiring 31 using the lead-in wiring 4 is cut along the cutting line 8 at the overlapping margin 6 as shown in FIG. And the other element 1 through the protective films 21 and 22 and the common wiring 31
Is cut out by punching at a location 91 or the lead-in wiring 4 is punched out at a location 92 to be separated. Further, as shown in FIG. 6 showing another embodiment, when the module in which the back electrode 7 of the element 1 is connected to the common wiring at the portion of the overlap margin 6 is cut along the cutting line 8, the cut element 11 and the other elements are separated. The element 1 is separated from the element 1 by punching the common wiring 31 at a location 91 through the protective films 21 and 22. In each of FIGS. 5 and 6, the punching points 91 and 92 are located inside the overlap margin 6 and another module is superimposed thereon, so that there is no danger of rainwater entering and there is no aesthetic problem. Punching the lead-in wiring 4 as shown in FIG. 5 can be performed in addition to the element 11 at the end, so that a defective element can be insulated from the common wiring 31. However, as shown in FIG. 1, when a part of the lead-in wiring 4 exists parallel to the entire end portion parallel to the arrangement direction of the elements 1, it is shown in FIG. 7, which is still another embodiment of the present invention. As described above, since the cutting line 8 crosses the lead-in wiring 41 at that portion, the element 11 can be separated at the same time as the cutting without any punching. The series connection or the parallel connection of the modules can be performed by using common wirings 31 and 32 drawn to the ends which are not cut as shown in FIG. When fixing the module to a roof or the like, if the ends of the wirings 31 and 32 are aligned, construction for connection is facilitated.

[0010] In still another module shown in FIG. 8, an adhesive tape 61 is applied to a portion of the overlap 6. To install this module on a roof or the like, contact tape 61
Then, the module is fixed by mechanical means such as nailing and stapler at a portion except for the common wiring, and then the end of the next module is positioned on the overlap 6 as shown in FIG. The modules are stacked, and are mechanically fixed at the overlap margin 6 at the upper end of the module. Finally, the lower end is fixed by the adhesive tape 61 of the lower module. Thereby, the photoelectric conversion region 10 of each module where the photoelectric conversion element 1 exists is continuously exposed. Of course, all modules may be fixed with adhesive tape without using mechanical means for fixing each module,
An adhesive may be used instead of the adhesive tape. The use of such an adhesive tape or adhesive greatly facilitates the application.

[0011]

According to the present invention, by employing the above-described method, the element having a short-circuit defect can be electrically separated from any part of the thin-film photoelectric conversion module. That is, a module is manufactured on a long fill-shaped substrate, cut into an appropriate shape, and a defective portion generated by the cutting can be easily separated, and the connection between the modules is simple. Thus, a thin-film photoelectric conversion module that can be effectively used for photovoltaic power generation can be obtained. In addition, by using the connection part between one common wiring and the terminal electrode of each element as an overlapping area when laying a plurality of modules on a roof or the like, an invalid area for connection to photoelectric conversion becomes an effective area. And the photoelectric conversion area efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a thin-film photoelectric conversion layer module applied to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from an anti-light incident surface side.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the thin-film photoelectric conversion module of FIG. 1 as viewed from a light incident surface side.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a thin-film photoelectric conversion layer module applied to another embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from a light incident surface side.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the thin-film photoelectric conversion module of FIG. 3 viewed from a light incident surface side.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of a method for separating defective elements of the thin-film photoelectric conversion module according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing another example of the method for separating defective elements of the thin-film photoelectric conversion module according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing still another example of the method for separating defective elements of the thin-film photoelectric conversion module according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the thin-film photoelectric conversion module applied to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from a light incident surface side.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a method of installing the thin-film photoelectric conversion module of FIG. 8;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photoelectric conversion layer element 10 Photoelectric conversion area 21 Surface protection film 22 Backside protection film 31, 32 Common wiring 4 Lead-in wiring 5 Thermal adhesive resin 6 Overlay 61 Adhesive tape 7 Backside electrode 8 Cutting line 91, 92

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-29640 (JP, A) JP-A-3-19379 (JP, A) JP-A-7-86627 (JP, A) 63950 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 60-103853 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 63-130843 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Application Showa 60-153554 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 31/04-31/078

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of thin-film photoelectric elements are arranged in a longitudinal direction on a strip-shaped insulating substrate, each element is electrically connected in parallel, and both electrode terminals of each element are located at both ends in the width direction of the substrate. A method for electrically separating end elements of a thin-film photoelectric conversion module connected to a common wiring provided on both sides of a substrate, wherein at least one of the electrode terminals of each element is connected to a light incident surface side of the substrate. A back electrode connected to the electrode on the light incident surface side of the substrate provided through a through hole formed in the substrate and connected to the common wiring. A method for electrically disconnecting an end element of a thin film photoelectric conversion module, wherein electrical disconnection from an inner element is performed by punching out one common wiring between both elements. 2. A plurality of thin-film photoelectric elements are arranged in a longitudinal direction on a strip-shaped insulating substrate, each element is electrically connected in parallel, and both electrode terminals of each element are located at both ends in the width direction of the substrate. And a method for electrically disconnecting the end elements of the thin-film photoelectric conversion module connected to the common wiring provided on both sides of the substrate, wherein at least one of the electrode terminals of each element connects the common wiring and the lead-in wiring. In which the end element and the element inside the end element are electrically disconnected, a lead-in wiring between the end element and the common wiring,
Alternatively, a method of electrically disconnecting an end element of a thin-film photoelectric conversion module, wherein the method is performed by punching out a common wiring between connection points of a lead-in wiring and a common wiring of both elements. 3. A plurality of thin-film photoelectric elements are arranged in a longitudinal direction on a strip-shaped insulating substrate, each element is electrically connected in parallel, and both electrode terminals of each element are located at both ends in the width direction of the substrate. And a method for electrically disconnecting the end elements of the thin-film photoelectric conversion module connected to the common wiring provided on both sides of the substrate, wherein at least one of the electrode terminals of each element connects the common wiring and the lead-in wiring. And a part of the lead-in wiring is positioned parallel to the entire end parallel to the arrangement direction of the connected elements, and the electrical connection between the end element and the element inside the end element is made. A method for electrically separating end elements of a thin-film photoelectric conversion module, wherein the separation is performed by simultaneously cutting the end element and a lead-in wiring positioned parallel to the end element. 4. An area in which one electrode terminal of each element is connected to a common wiring is used as an overlap area when a plurality of thin film photoelectric conversion modules are partially overlapped. The method for electrically disconnecting an end element of a thin-film photoelectric conversion module according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. A thin-film photoelectric conversion module, which is partly overlapped and installed, is adhered in the overlap region.
A method for electrically disconnecting an end element of the thin-film photoelectric conversion module according to the above. 6. The thin film according to claim 1, wherein the ends of both common wirings are exposed at one end in the longitudinal direction of the substrate opposite to the end at which the end element is electrically disconnected. A method for electrically disconnecting an end element of a photoelectric conversion module.