JP4628502B1 - Method and apparatus for manufacturing a laminate module such as a solar cell module - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a laminating method that does not generate residual bubbles and a manufacturing apparatus therefor in a method for manufacturing a solar cell module in which both a front surface material and a back surface material use a fragile material such as glass.
Laminate module components of glass 101, sealing resin sheet 102, and glass 103 are carried into a steel belt 13 installed in the heating chamber 1. In the preheating step, the first heater plate 17 is located behind the steel belt 13 and away from the setting position of the laminate module component, and the second heater plate 16 is located above the laminate module component, Laminate module components are heated from above and below via a steel belt by the radiant heat of these heater plates in the chamber evacuation process.
[Selection] Figure 1 (B)

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing a laminate module such as a solar cell module (also referred to as a solar cell panel).

  A typical example of a laminate module to which the present invention is applied is a solar cell module. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the first and second protective members and the protective members are not limited thereto. What is necessary is just a laminated body provided with the sealing resin sheet (filler) which interposes. Other than the solar cell module, a liquid crystal panel or the like can be considered.

  The solar cell module is particularly suitable for a laminate module in which glass (protective member) and glass (protective member) are bonded with a sealing resin interposed therebetween. For example, a solar cell module such as CIGS type or tandem thin film silicon is used. Though possible, it is not intended to limit the type.

  A general laminating device used for manufacturing a solar cell module expands flexibly and freely by a vacuum container called a chamber that generates a vacuum environment, a heating element such as a heater, and suction or fluid injection by a vacuum pump. A rubber sheet (also called a diaphragm) is used as a main component (for example, Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-101117).

  In a generally known method for manufacturing a solar cell module using a laminating apparatus, a rubber sheet (diaphragm) called a diaphragm is provided inside an upper part of a vacuum vessel serving as a lid portion of a chamber, and a chamber portion of the chamber is provided. It has a structure provided with a heating element such as a heater inside the lower part of the vacuum vessel. The solar cell components are heated by a heating element such as a heater, and the inside of the chamber is decompressed by a vacuum generator, so that the rubber sheet expands to the vacuum side by the expanded space between the lid member and the rubber sheet. . Thereby, the laminated | stacked component of the heated solar cell is pinched | interposed with a rubber sheet and a heating plate (member which supports a solar cell module laminated body), and is compressed. In the heating process under the vacuum environment, a sheet-like sealing resin (filler) called EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate), which is one of the components of the solar cell module, is melted and crosslinked. By such a laminating method, the solar cell module is manufactured by integrally joining the components (laminated components) of the solar cell module.

  In addition, only the general laminating method and the manufacturing method using the laminating apparatus as described above may cause the glass used as a component part of the solar cell module to be warped and damaged in the manufacturing process, There are various problems such as unstable quality, and it cannot be solved with the structure of a general laminating apparatus using a diaphragm.

  In order to solve this problem, various mechanisms have been improved and control methods have been improved based on the structure of a general laminating apparatus employing a diaphragm system.

On the other hand, as a kind of solar cell, it replaces a crystalline silicon solar cell, and various thin film solar cells are also manufactured, and results have begun to appear. For example, a CIGS solar cell is a thin film compound solar cell of Cu, In, Ga, and Se, and belongs to a high module conversion efficiency among thin film solar cells. In addition, since the number of manufacturing steps is about half that of crystalline silicon solar cells, it is expected to be a low-cost solar cell and is characterized by a low environmental load. Furthermore, since there is no secular change, it is excellent in long-term reliability, and it is expected that the market will expand with the help of the calm atmosphere that the black color matches the appearance of the roof.
The thin film solar cell module is not limited to the CIGS solar cell module, and the glass substrate (front surface side protection member) serving as a cell substrate having a light-electric conversion thin film formed on one surface and the back surface side protective material (reinforcing material) And a laminate of sealing resin (filler: EVA resin, for example) interposed between these members.

  In the laminating method and laminating apparatus that employs the diaphragm method, even if a wide variety of devices are incorporated, the solar cell module that is the work uses materials such as glass on the one hand and flexible sheets on the other. (The flexible sheet functions as a cushioning material when the component to be the solar cell module is pressed by the rubber sheet in the laminating process). Therefore, the constituent parts of the solar cell to be laminated are both brittle materials such as glass for both the front surface material and the back surface material, and furthermore, one side of the size of the glass substrate serving as the cell substrate is a glass having a size exceeding 1 m. It is not easy to be suitable for the production of a solar cell module having a sealing resin-glass laminated structure.

JP 2000-101117 A

  In the first place, in the process of manufacturing a solar cell module, a laminating method for generating a vacuum environment by a chamber for laminating and sandwiching the components of the solar cell module by expansion of a rubber sheet using a diaphragm method is a surface material. In order to prevent residual bubbles from being generated in the gaps between the filler and the cell substrate sandwiched between the back surface material and the cell substrate.

  Since the solar cell module is disposed outdoors due to the nature of its use, its temperature rises. If residual bubbles are generated, this temperature rise causes the bubbles remaining inside the solar cell module to expand, resulting in loss of sealing performance and deterioration due to intrusion of rainwater from the sealed part, resulting in product performance and lifespan. Affects. It can be said that the laminating apparatus that employs the diaphragm system, which is a conventional technique, prevents this.

  However, in the process of manufacturing the solar cell module, the use of the diaphragm method itself for laminating itself causes stress on the solar cell module, that is, pinching with a rubber sheet. This stress is caused by a protective material on the front surface (cell substrate, etc.) and a protective member on the back surface (reinforcement) as in a solar cell module configured by bonding glass together like a glass-sealing resin-glass laminate. In both cases, the solar cell module using a fragile material such as glass becomes a fatal manufacturing defect.

  In the present invention, the solar cell module formed by bonding glass, that is, the component parts of the module to be laminated, uses a fragile material such as glass for both the front surface protection member and the back surface protection member. It is an object of the present invention to provide a laminating method that does not generate residual bubbles without using a diaphragm method in laminating solar cell modules, and a laminating apparatus suitable for manufacturing the laminating method. As a result, in the solar cell module comprised by bonding of glass, it aims at producing the product of stable quality and keeping productivity favorable.

  The manufacturing method of the laminate module of the present invention is basically configured as follows.

(I) The first and second protective members that are constituent elements of the laminate module and the sealing resin sheet sandwiched between the protective members are integrated by heating and melting and crosslinking the sealing resin sheet. In the method of manufacturing a laminated module for bonding and laminating,
(A) carrying in a laminate module component in which the first protective member, the sealing resin sheet, and the second protective member are stacked in this order on a steel belt installed in the heating chamber;
(B) A first heater plate is located on the back side of the steel belt and away from the laminate module component so as to maintain a space for bending deformation of the steel belt, and above the laminate module component. In the evacuation process toward the target vacuum level, the laminate module component is heated from above and below by the radiant heat of the first and second heater plates, and the temperature of the heating transient period is The upward bending of the first protective member that temporarily occurs due to non-uniformity causes the steel belt to bend and deform following the warping, thereby holding the laminate module component in a stable state, and the warping caused by the warping. A gas component generated from the sealing resin sheet is evacuated through a gap between the first and second protective members. And the pre-heating step of removing using,
(C) The radiant heating is continued in the vacuum atmosphere by the first heater plate and the second heater plate with respect to the laminate module constituent element whose warpage has returned after the preheating step, and then the first module A vacuum heating step in which the heater plate is brought into close contact with the back surface of the steel belt, and the second heater plate is brought into close contact with the second protective member to heat and melt the sealing resin sheet;
(2) after that, the inside of the heating chamber is opened to the atmosphere and the heating by the first and second heater plates is continued, and the atmosphere heating step of causing a crosslinking reaction in the sealing resin sheet is included. And

  As an apparatus for carrying out the manufacturing method, the following is proposed.

(Ii) That is, by first melting and cross-linking the sealing resin sheet between the first and second protective members which are constituent elements of the laminate module and the sealing resin sheet sandwiched between the protective members. In the manufacturing equipment for laminated modules that are bonded and laminated together,
A heating chamber capable of generating a vacuum environment by depressurization via a vacuum pump;
Laminate that also serves as a conveyor for a laminate module component that becomes a workpiece to be heated, and is placed in the heating chamber and laminated in the order of the first protective member, the sealing resin sheet, and the second protective member. A heating chamber with an endless steel belt used for the heating process with module components mounted;
A first heater plate disposed on the back side of the steel belt;
A second heater plate disposed above the steel belt and facing the first heater plate via the steel belt;
An elevating mechanism capable of changing a relative height position of the steel belt, the first heater plate, and the second heater plate is provided.

  According to the present invention, in the manufacturing process of the laminate module, when the laminate module is preheated to heat or heat melt the sealing resin sheet, the gas generated from the sealing resin on the first protective member is The first protective member can be released by utilizing the gap between the first and second protective members caused by the warp temporarily generated, and the emitted gas is released to the outside by using vacuum exhaust. Accordingly, since the gas causing the bubbles is exhausted before the laminate module constituent members come into close contact with each other, the cause of the residual bubbles is eliminated, and the yield of the laminate module can be increased, and a product with stable quality can be provided. .

  In addition, according to the present invention, unlike a general laminating apparatus that employs a diaphragm method, a protective member (for example, a glass plate) of a solar cell module is not sandwiched between rubber sheets. The stress can be suppressed because there is no such factor. The yield improvement by reducing the stress on the product is effective for improving the productivity, and avoids the adverse effect on the performance and life of the product due to the inherent stress.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the schematic diagram which shows one process of the manufacturing process of the lamination method which concerns on one Example of this invention, an upper stage is a cross-sectional front view, and a lower stage is a cross-sectional side view. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the schematic diagram which shows one process of the manufacturing process of the lamination method which concerns on one Example of this invention, an upper stage is a cross-sectional front view, and a lower stage is a cross-sectional side view. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the schematic diagram which shows one process of the manufacturing process of the lamination method which concerns on one Example of this invention, an upper stage is a cross-sectional front view, and a lower stage is a cross-sectional side view. The front view which shows one Example of the lamination module manufacturing apparatus of this invention. The YY cross-section side view of the said laminate module manufacturing apparatus of FIG. The Z arrow directional view of FIG. 3 of the said lamination module manufacturing apparatus. The top view of the said laminate module manufacturing apparatus.

  First, the principle of the method for manufacturing a laminate module according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 (A) to 1 (C). As an example of the laminate module to be applied, a solar cell module is illustrated. For example, a tempered glass 101 that serves as a protective member (first protective member) on the back surface, an EVA sheet 102 that serves as a sealing resin (filler) sheet, a thin film of a solar cell (second protective member) ( For example, it is made of a laminated body of cell glass substrates 3 on the inside of which a CIGS thin film, tandem thin film silicon) is formed. In the text, the back surface protection member is referred to as the first protection member 101, the EVA sheet is referred to as the sealing resin sheet 102, and the surface protection member is referred to as the second protection member 103. The front surface protection member is referred to as the first protection member, and the back surface. The protective member may be the second protective member. Moreover, although the protective member of these laminate module components is a glass material, it may be a hard transparent material (epoxy resin). Moreover, even if it is other than a solar cell, if it has the same laminate structure, the kind of the target product will not be limited. Hereinafter, the protective member will be described by way of example using glass.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 13 denotes a steel belt. The steel belt 13 is an endless belt that is wound around a drive pulley 14 and a tension pulley 15 that applies tension to the belt, and also serves as a conveyance belt.

  The steel belt 13 is disposed in the heating chamber 1 (see FIG. 2 and FIG. 3), not shown in FIG. The heating chamber can generate a vacuum environment by depressurization via a vacuum pump described later.

  A first heater plate 17 is disposed on the back side of the steel belt 13. A second heater plate 16 is disposed above the steel belt 13. These heater plates 16 and 17 are disposed to face each other with the steel belt 13 interposed therebetween. The first heater plate 17 serves as a lower heater plate, and the second heater plate 16 serves as an upper heater plate. As the heater plate, an IH (induction heating) heater, a nichrome wire built-in heater, or the like is used.

  Although not shown in FIG. 1, at least two of the steel belt 13, the first heater plate 17, and the second heater plate 16 are raised and lowered that can change the relative height position between these components. A mechanism is provided.

  A plurality of steel belts 13 are arranged side by side. In the embodiment, four steel belts 13 are illustrated, but the number of the belts 13 can be arbitrarily set.

  In manufacturing the laminate module, the upper and lower heater plates 16 and 17 are preheated to a preset temperature (for example, 160 ° C., but not limited thereto). First, as shown in FIG. 1A, a first glass (first protective member) 101, a sealing resin sheet 102, a second glass (second glass) are placed on a steel belt 13 installed in a heating chamber. The protective module) is laminated in the order of the laminate module components.

  The first heater plate (lower heater plate) 17 is a position separated from the set position of the workpiece (laminate module component) on the back side of the steel belt 13 so as to keep a space for bending deformation of the steel belt. Installed at (pre-heating source position). The second heater plate (upper heater plate) 16 is also located at a position appropriately separated from the work (laminate module component). In this state, while the inside of the heating chamber is evacuated, the heater plates 17 and 16 are used as a heat source (the heating temperature is controlled to be constant from preheating to the subsequent heating step), and the radiant heat causes When the laminate module component is heated by the above, the heat from the heater 17 from the lower side is heated by the first glass 101 via the steel belt 13, as shown in FIG. In the first glass 101, a temperature difference (temperature nonuniformity) temporarily occurs between the lower surface side and the upper surface side during the heating transition period. Therefore, an upward warp occurs in the first glass 101, and the steel belt 13 is also bent and deformed following the warp. Even if the first glass 101 forming the lowermost layer of the laminate is warped due to the bending deformation of the steel belt 13, the contact area between the first protective member 101 and the steel belt 103 is substantially the same as that when there is no warp. Similarly, since sufficient securing is achieved, the entire laminate module as the workpiece to be heated is supported in a stable state on the steel belt 103, and the laminate module is prevented from moving on the steel belt. The sealing resin sheet 102 is heated following the warp of the first protective member 101.

  In addition, the holding of the work (glass-sealing resin-glass laminate) between the heaters during preheating by such a steel belt is compared with, for example, support by pins (support rods) installed at intervals. In this case, the steel belt method has a better followability with respect to the warp of the workpiece, so that stable holding is possible. That is, in the case of a fixed support mechanism such as a pin, it is difficult to follow an unpredictable amount of glass deformation (warpage). If the steel belt is provided between the module and the heater, the steel belt can conduct heat uniformly to the work due to the heat conduction of the steel belt. It becomes local heat transfer, and uniform heat transfer cannot be expected.

  Incidentally, the second glass 103 is also heated by the upper heater plate 16 and temporarily warps downward during the heating transient, but compared with the warp of the first glass 101 heated via the steel belt 13. Small. If at least the warp of the first glass 101 occurs temporarily, a gap G due to the warp is temporarily generated between the first glass 101 with the sealing resin sheet and the second glass 103. The gap G enables the gas generated by heating or melting of the sealing resin sheet 102 to be discharged, and the discharged gas is discharged to the outside by vacuum exhaust in the heating chamber. Such a process of the released gas is performed in a pre-heating, that is, heating stage of an initial process (for example, about 30 Pa) to reach a target vacuum degree (for example, 10 Pa).

  As the preheating process proceeds, the temperature of the first and second glasses 101 and 103 is also made uniform and returns to the state without warping (the state of FIG. 1A). The second glass (upper glass) 103 is adhered by its own weight.

  After the preheating step, the entire laminate module components are heated from the upper and lower surfaces by the first and second heater plates 17 and 16 in the state shown in FIG. Thereby, the sealing resin 102 is heated and melted.

  When the degree of vacuum in the heating chamber containing the steel belt reaches the target value, as shown in FIG. The entire laminate module component is heated in close contact with the first and second heater plates 17 and 16 while being placed on the substrate.

  Since the sealing resin is heated and melted by close contact heating and almost all of the gas is released, when the upper glass is brought into close contact with the sealing resin, the surface of the sealing resin sandwiched between the two protective members has no gas. Without being sealed, the protective member can be brought into close contact with the molten adhesive resin without generating bubbles by the flow of the sealing resin.

  Further, after the vacuum contact heating step, atmospheric contact heating is performed in which the inside of the heating chamber is opened to the atmosphere and the contact heating is continued.

Thereby, according to Boyle's law shown by the following formula ^{(* 1)} , even if a few residual bubbles remain between the sealing resin 102 and the protective members 101, 103, the volume of the residual bubbles at atmospheric pressure is Since it is compressed to a thousandth in a vacuum environment, bubbles that are small enough to be visible disappear.
(* 1) Boyle's law: P ₁ V ₁ = P ₂ V ₂ (P ₁ : atmospheric pressure, V ₁ : volume at atmospheric pressure, P ₂ : vacuum pressure, V ₂ : volume under vacuum environment)
For example, in the case where slight residual bubbles are generated in the sealing resin according to the Boyle's law due to a vacuum environment of about 10 Pa (Pascal) and an atmospheric pressure of about 100,000 Pa (Pascal). However, the volume at atmospheric pressure is compressed to 1 / 10,000 in a vacuum environment. The heating of the heater plate continues in this atmospheric contact heating process, causing a crosslinking reaction to proceed. For example, when the sealing resin is an EVA resin, a crosslinking agent is contained, but the crosslinking temperature is 100 ° C. or higher, and the crosslinking reaction proceeds in the range of 130 to 150 ° C., for example. The melting point of EVA resin is about 80 ° C.

  By the way, there are convection, radiation, and conduction in the way of heat transfer, and when using a diaphragm like a conventional laminating device, conduction from the lower side of the module is possible, but the upper side is a diaphragm. Since there is a rubber sheet, direct heating by conduction becomes impossible for heating from the upper side. On the other hand, since the present embodiment system can directly conduct the work (laminated body of module components) by adhesion from either the upper side or the lower side, there is an effect of storing heat energy in the module. It has the advantage that crosslinking proceeds faster.

  Lamination is completed with the crosslinking reaction of the sealing resin 102 proceeding.

The module that has been laminated is carried out of the heating chamber via the steel belt 13.
(Configuration of laminate module manufacturing equipment)
Here, the structure of the lamination module manufacturing apparatus (laminating apparatus) which concerns on a present Example is explained in full detail using FIGS. 2 is a front view showing the laminate module manufacturing apparatus of the present example, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view taken along the line YY of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a view taken along the arrow Z in FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the heating chamber as viewed from above with the upper wall of the heating chamber removed.

  The laminate module manufacturing apparatus of this example uses the parts used in the above-described FIG. 1 (A) to FIG. 1 (C).

  The heating chamber 1 capable of forming a vacuum atmosphere is composed of an upper wall 1a and a lower wall 1b for forming a chamber connected through a seal member (seal ring) or the like. 6 surfaces are formed, and a steel belt mechanism (steel belt 13, drive pulley 14, tension side pulley (driven pulley) 15), first heater plate (lower heater plate) 17, second heater plate (inside the chamber) A space for accommodating the upper heater plate) 16 is secured.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a module insertion port 30 and a module discharge port 31 are provided on both side surfaces 1 c and 1 d facing each other in the steel belt traveling direction of the chamber 1.

  Outside the chamber 1, a module loading side shutter 2 and a loading side shutter opening / closing mechanism 10 for opening and closing the loading port are provided in the vicinity of the module loading port 30.

  Various shutter opening / closing mechanisms 10 can be arbitrarily set. For example, the shutter opening / closing mechanism 10 is configured as follows. In this example, the shutter opening / closing mechanism 10 includes a linear actuator (for example, a ball screw mechanism, a cylinder mechanism, etc.) 10a attached to the fixed frame 200 on the module insertion port side, and a movable body 10b connected to a movable portion of the actuator 10a. And a tilting plate 10f supported by the movable body 10b via a shaft (not shown) so as to be tiltable, and cam followers 10c provided on both sides of the tilting plate 10f. The shutter 2 is supported by the tilting plate 10f. As shown in FIG. 2, the movable body 10b, the tilting plate 10f, and the shutter 2 constitute a single unit and move integrally in the horizontal direction of the arrow. In FIG. 5, for convenience of drawing, the tilting plate 10 f is omitted and the movable body 10 b and the shutter 2 are illustrated apart from the arrangement of FIG. 2. However, when FIG. Reference numeral 10b indicates that the linear actuator 10a moves forward with the tilt 10f to the position of the arrow M and the shutter 2 closes the module insertion slot 30 at the current position in FIG.

  On both the left and right sides of the frame 200 in the width direction (perpendicular to the steel belt traveling direction), inclined guides 10d for guiding the cam follower 10c are arranged. When the movable rod of the actuator 10a moves in the forward direction, the movable body 10b, the tilting plate 10f, and the shutter 2 also move to the left as viewed in the figure. During this movement, the tilting plate 10f and the shutter 2 face the inlet through the cam follower 10c. The shutter 2 is applied to the periphery of the module insertion slot 30 in accordance with the tilting operation and the forward movement. Thereby, the shutter closing operation is performed. An O-ring (not shown) is formed on one surface of the shutter 2, that is, the surface facing the inlet 30 side. When the inside of the heating chamber 1 is made a vacuum atmosphere with the shutter closed, the shutter 2 is sucked in close contact with the outer wall surface of the heating chamber via an O-ring by play (back) secured in advance.

  A module discharge side shutter 3 and a discharge side shutter opening / closing mechanism 11 for opening and closing the discharge port are provided in the vicinity of the module discharge port 31 outside the chamber 1. The shutter opening / closing mechanism 11 has the same configuration as the opening / closing mechanism 10. That is, the shutter opening / closing mechanism 11 includes a linear actuator 11a attached to the fixed frame 200 on the module insertion slot side, a movable body 11b connected to a movable portion of the actuator 11a, and shafts 11e provided on both sides of the movable body 11b. And a cam follower 11c provided on both sides of the tilting plate 11f. The shutter 2 is supported by the tilting plate 11f. On both the left and right sides of the frame 200, tilt guides 11d for guiding the cam follower 11c are arranged. Since the operation is the same as that of the shutter mechanism 10 described above, description thereof is omitted. Since the shutter mechanism 10 on the module insertion side and the shutter mechanism 11 on the module discharge side are drawn from opposite directions, the appearance of the components is slightly changed.

  In the vicinity of the module insertion port 30 outside the chamber 1, a plurality (four in the embodiment) of module insertion support rollers 8 are arranged in parallel according to the number of steel belts 13. Similarly, a plurality of module discharge support rollers 9 are arranged in the vicinity of the module discharge port 31.

  As described above, a plurality of steel belts 13 arranged in parallel are provided in the heating chamber (vacuum chamber) 1, the driving pulley 14 is located on the module discharge port 31 side, and the tension pulley 15 is It is located on the module slot 30 side.

  The drive pulley 14 is driven when the steel belt 13 operates as a conveyor, that is, when the workpiece (laminate module) is operated as a conveyor during loading and unloading before and after the heating and bonding step of the workpiece (laminate module). The (conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12) is connected to and disconnected from the drive pulley 14 as follows.

  That is, the conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12 is provided in the vicinity of the module discharge port 31 outside the heating chamber. The conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12 includes a linear actuator 12a (for example, a cylinder mechanism and a ball actuator mechanism), a roller holder 12b supported by a movable portion of the linear actuator 12a, a module discharge support roller 9 supported by the roller holder 12b, and And a power transmission roller 32. The rollers 9 and 32 are rotationally driven by a motor via a power transmission mechanism 12c (see FIG. 5).

  When the roller holder 12b is moved to the right side of FIG. 5 by the servo linear actuator 12a capable of position control when the shutter 3 is in the open state as shown in FIG. It enters the heating chamber 1 through the outlet 31 of the heating chamber. As a result, the roller 32 is pressed against a power transmission roller 33 (see FIG. 5) provided on the drive shaft on the steel belt drive pulley 14 side, and the drive pulley 14 is rotationally driven through the power transmission of these rollers 32 and 33. To do. Thereby, the steel belt 13 also functions as a conveyor for loading and unloading workpieces.

  The discharge-side shutter mechanism 11 and the conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12 are arranged above and below as shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 shows the conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12 with the discharge-side shutter mechanism 11 omitted.

  When the conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12 that transmits power to the drive pulley 14 is disposed outside the heating chamber and the power transmission roller 32 enters and exits the heating chamber 1 as necessary, when the heating chamber is in a vacuum atmosphere By bringing out the conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12 including the power transmission roller 32 to the outside of the heating chamber, the vacuum forming space inside the heating chamber 1 can be made compact and the airtightness of the vacuum can be easily realized.

  The lower heater plate 17 serving as the first heater plate is divided into a plurality of pieces as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 (in this embodiment, the number is divided into five, but the number of divisions is arbitrary). It is arranged on the back side of the steel belt 13 in a direction crossing three-dimensionally with the traveling direction of the plurality of steel belts 13 arranged side by side.

  The plurality of first heater plates 17 are supported by the respective heater plate lifting mechanisms 20 and can be moved up and down. The heater plate lifting / lowering mechanism 20 is constituted by a ball screw mechanism with a servo function that converts mechanical rotational motion into vertical linear motion.

  That is, each elevating mechanism 20 includes a motor 201 as a drive source, a screw rod 202 (see FIG. 4) rotated by the motor 201, and a mover 203 (see FIG. 4) that performs linear reciprocating motion by forward and reverse rotation of the screw rod 202. Reference), a pair of movable plates 204 coupled to the mover 203 and capable of linear reciprocating movement with the mover 203, a plurality of cam grooves 205 arranged in a row on the movable plate 204, and each cam The lift rod 206 is engaged with the groove 205. The first heater plate 17 is supported through the lifting rod 206 so as to be movable up and down.

  In such an elevating mechanism 20, the rotational movement of the motor 201 is converted into the vertical movement of the elevating rod 206 via the screw rod 202 and the cam groove 205. Therefore, the first heater plate 17 is rotated by servo-controlled motor rotation. The vertical position of can be adjusted arbitrarily.

  The motor 201 of the elevating mechanism 20 uses a servo motor or the like that can be numerically controlled, and the conversion ratio of the movement rate of the vertical linear movement (elevating movement) to the horizontal linear movement via the cam groove 205 is, for example, By making it as large as 1/10, it is possible to prevent the position control accuracy of the lifting mechanism from being adversely affected by the difference in vacuum and atmospheric pressure inside and outside the heating chamber.

  The drive pulley 14 is connected to the elevating mechanism 18 via a pulley support mechanism 35 that supports it. The raising / lowering mechanism of the raising / lowering mechanism 18 is the same as that of the raising / lowering mechanism 20 mentioned above, In the figure, although the motor 181 as a drive source, the movable plate 182 which has a cam groove, and the raising / lowering rod 183 are illustrated, The rod and cam groove are not shown.

  The tension side pulley 15 is connected to the lifting mechanism 19 via a pulley support mechanism 36 that supports the tension side pulley 15. The raising / lowering mechanism of the raising / lowering mechanism 19 is the same as that of the raising / lowering mechanism 20 mentioned above, In the figure, although the motor 191 as a drive source, the movable plate 192 which has a cam groove, and the raising / lowering rod 193 are illustrated, screw The rod and cam groove are not shown.

  Via these elevating mechanisms 18, 19, the driving pulley 14, the tension pulley 15, and eventually the steel belt 13 can be moved up and down for height adjustment.

  Although not shown, the heating chamber 1 is connected to a vacuum generation source (vacuum pump, etc.), a vacuum channel vacuum channel on / off valve, an air channel on / off valve, and a vacuum measuring device (sensor) provided outside the chamber. Has been.

Next, a specific example of a suitable laminating process using the laminating module manufacturing apparatus will be described in detail.
[Lamination process]
The process for laminating the solar cell module and the operation of each part of the apparatus are as follows.
1.1: Preparation for operation
(1) The lower heater plate (first heater plate) 17 and the upper heater plate (second heater plate) 16 are energized to adjust to a set temperature (for example, about 160 ° C.).
(2) After reaching the set temperature, an arbitrary set time is allowed to elapse and the temperature of the heater plates 16 and 17 is converged and stabilized.
1.2: Module insertion
(1) The drive pulley 14 is adjusted to the input height of the workpiece (laminate module component) using the drive pulley lifting / lowering mechanism 18.
(2) At the same time, the tension side pulley 15 is adjusted to the same height as the drive side pulley 14 by using the tension side pulley lifting mechanism 19.
(3) The input side shutter opening / closing mechanism 10 is operated to open the module input side shutter 2 (input port 30).
(4) Simultaneously, the discharge-side shutter opening / closing mechanism 11 is operated to open the module discharge-side shutter 3 (discharge port 31).
(5) From the discharge side shutter direction, the linear actuator 12a is used to move the module discharge support roller 9 and the power transmission roller 32 of the conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12 from the discharge port 31 into the heating chamber 1, and the power transmission roller 32 is connected to the driving pulley 14 of the conveyor via a power transmission roller 33.
(6) By this connection, the driving pulley 14 also rotates, and the steel belt 13 becomes a module conveyor.
(7) In such a state, the module loading support roller 8 and the module discharge support roller 9 are rotated by the servo motor, and the power transmission roller 32 is also rotated in conjunction with the module discharge support roller 9.
(8) Here, the components of the laminate module (those obtained by laminating the first and second glasses and the sealing resin sheet) are supplied by a transport carriage (may be an apparatus such as a conveyor).
(9) The stacked module components are conveyed by the module loading support roller 8 and the steel belt 13.
(10) The conveyance amount by the steel belt 13 is servo-controlled, and the module on the steel belt 13 is set at a set position.
(11) The conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12 connected to the drive pulley 14 is disconnected from the drive pulley 14.
1.3: Preheating (degassing)
(1) The drive pulley 14 is adjusted to the preheating height using the drive pulley lifting mechanism 18.
(2) At the same time, the tension side pulley 15 is adjusted to the same height as the drive side pulley 14 by using the tension side pulley lifting mechanism 19. The height adjustment of these pulleys is relative to the laminate module components at the pre-heat source position on the back side of the steel belt and away from the set position of the laminate module components so as to maintain the space for bending deformation of the steel belt. Thus, it is set at a position where preheating is not impaired.
(3) At this time, the stacked module components are held by the steel belt 13.
(4) Simultaneously with the raising of the pulleys 14 and 15, the closing shutter 10 (closing port 30) is closed by the closing shutter opening / closing mechanism 10.
(5) In addition, the discharge shutter opening / closing mechanism 11 closes the module discharge shutter 3 (discharge port 31) at the same time.
(6) A vacuum generation source (not shown) is operated to generate a vacuum inside the heating chamber 1.
(7) A vacuum path is opened by a vacuum channel opening / closing valve (not shown) to generate a vacuum environment in the chamber.

  Here, as described above, the module has a configuration in which the adhesive sheet (resin EVA) 102 is sandwiched between the first glass 101 and the second glass 103.

  When the module components are heated by the first and second heater plates 17 and 16, particularly when heated directly by the radiant heat of the first heater plate (lower heater plate) 17, the first glass 101 is Deforms by warping upward like a dish. If only the central part of the module deformation comes into contact with the heater plate via the steel belt due to such warpage, there is an adverse effect due to local heating. An adverse effect refers to a state in which the sealing resin 102 is locally heated through glass and cured without melting. In the present embodiment, in order to eliminate such a problem, in the preheating, the laminate module component is separated (floated) from the lower heater plate. The position of the heater plate serving as a pre-heating source (position away from the module) can be arbitrarily set to cope with differences in the material and thickness of the module.

  The amount of deformation of the module can be controlled by adjusting the position to be the preheating source (position away from the module). Further, in this embodiment, the laminated module component that has warped is held in a stable state by surface contact due to the bending deformation of the steel belt 13 following the upward warping of the first glass 101 of the laminate module component. .

  Further, the gap G can be generated between the glass 101 and the glass 103 by controlling the deformation amount of the glass 101. From this gap, the air layer and the gas component can be completely removed when the vacuum environment is generated (see FIG. 1B).

  When the degree of vacuum increases, heat radiation from the glass surface decreases, and the glass temperature becomes uniform throughout. When the temperature of the glass becomes uniform, deformation such as warping that has occurred in the entire module is eliminated. As described above, since the steel belt 13 is used, the glass transformation can be flexibly followed.

The preheating (gas venting) time can be arbitrarily set.
1.4: Double-sided heating (1) The degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber (heating chamber 1) is monitored by the degree-of-vacuum measuring device 7 to see if it reaches a set value.
(2) When the preheating (degassing) time has elapsed and the degree of vacuum has reached, double-sided heating is started.
(3) The drive pulley 14 is adjusted to the double-side heating height by the drive pulley lifting mechanism 18.
(4) At the same time, the tension-side pulley 15 is adjusted to the same height by the tension-side pulley lifting mechanism 19.
(5) Further, the lower heater plate 17 is adjusted to the same height by the lower heater plate lifting mechanism 20.
(6) The module is heated from both sides by the upper heater plate 16 and the lower heater plate 17.
(7) The double-sided heating height can be arbitrarily set in order to cope with the difference in the material and thickness of the module, so that the workpiece (laminate module component) and the upper and lower heater plates 16, 17 separation distances (radiant heat distances) can be set as appropriate.
1.5: Vacuum adhesion heating (1) Monitor whether the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber has reached a required value at the time of adhesion by a vacuum measuring instrument.
(2) When the double-sided heating time has elapsed and the degree of vacuum has been reached, contact heating is started as follows. The drive pulley 14 is adjusted to the contact heating height by the drive pulley lifting / lowering mechanism 18. At the same time, the tension side pulley 15 is adjusted to the same height by the tension side pulley lifting mechanism 19. That is, the drive pulley 14 and the tension side pulley 15 are raised to a position where the upper glass 103 of the workpiece is in close contact with the upper heater plate 16. Further, the lower heater plate lifting mechanism 20 raises the lower heater plate 17 to a position where it is in close contact with the back surface of the steel bell 13.
(3) In such a state, the upper heater plate 16 and the lower heater plate 17 heat the module while sandwiching the steel belt 13 therebetween.
(4) The contact heating height can be set arbitrarily to accommodate differences in module materials and thickness.

Here, in the contact heating process, when glass and glass are brought into close contact with each other, a load for correcting the deformation (original warpage or the like) of the glass is required. This can be done by setting the load with the Young's modulus of the glass equivalent to the aluminum alloy. The load is determined by the material and thickness of the module. The upper heater plate 16 needs to be free in the upward direction when closely attached. (A few mm is acceptable)
1.5: Vacuum close contact heating (1) Monitor the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber with a vacuum measuring instrument.
(2) After confirming that the contact heating time has elapsed and the degree of vacuum is maintained, the inside of the heating chamber 1 is opened to the atmosphere.
(3) When the atmosphere is released, the path to the vacuum chamber is closed by the vacuum channel opening / closing valve.
(4) After closing the vacuum path, the atmospheric flow path opening / closing valve is opened to make the inside of the chamber atmospheric.
(5) At this time, the operation of the vacuum generation source (such as a vacuum pump) is also stopped.
(6) The air release is performed in the state of close contact heating, and the time required for the air release is not particularly specified.
In the atmospheric heating process, as described above, Boyle's law based on the pressure difference between the vacuum pressure and the atmospheric pressure is applied. The effect of Boyle's law can be obtained by bringing the glasses together on the entire surface. In order to enhance the effect of Boyle's law, it is necessary to increase the differential pressure ratio from atmospheric pressure as much as possible. The vacuum ultimate pressure in the chamber is desirably about 10 Pa (differential pressure ratio with respect to atmospheric pressure: about 1 / 10,000). As the differential pressure ratio is higher, even if residual bubbles are visually recognized in a vacuum environment, they disappear in the atmosphere.

In this laminate module manufacturing apparatus, a steel belt structure is devised to increase the vacuum ultimate pressure.
That is, all the steel belts are accommodated in the chamber, and the device is designed to maintain the airtightness of the chamber.

  The drive mechanism of the external conveyor is configured outside the chamber, which can be attached to and detached from the heating chamber 21 as necessary. The elevating mechanism is also configured outside the chamber, and is kept airtight with an O-ring and Y packing.

  O-rings are fitted in the shutters 2 and 3 so as to keep the chamber side wall airtight. The shutter is made of aluminum alloy so that it can follow the side walls.

  The shutter drive source and the shutter have a margin at the connection. This margin of connection can be adapted to the behavior of the shutter being pulled in when the vacuum environment of the chamber is generated.

When generating the vacuum environment, a plurality of suction ports may be provided in the chamber so that uniform suction can be achieved at an accelerated rate. That is, it is possible to keep the airtight by pulling the shutter instantaneously by the acceleration suction.
1.7 Continuous heating (crosslinking heating)
(1) Monitor whether the inside of the vacuum chamber is normally atmospheric with a vacuum measuring instrument.
(2) After confirming that the atmosphere has been released, the contact heating is continued for an arbitrary set time.
(3) Close contact heating in the air promotes crosslinking.
1.8 Module discharge (1) The drive pulley 14 is adjusted to the discharge height by the drive pulley lifting mechanism 18. At the same time, the tension side pulley 15 is adjusted to the same height as the driving side pulley by the tension side pulley lifting mechanism 19. By adjusting the height of these pulleys, the steel belt 13 is also substantially the same height as these pulleys.
(2) Next, the input side shutter opening / closing mechanism 10 opens the module input side shutter 2 (input port 30).
(3) At the same time, the module discharge side shutter 3 is opened by the discharge side shutter opening / closing mechanism 11.
(4) The conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12 is connected to the drive-side pulley 14 of the conveyor as in the case of module insertion.
(5) The module discharge support roller 9 is rotated by servo drive.
(6) The module is transported by the steel belt 13 and discharged to a transport device such as a transport cart.
(7) After the module is discharged, the conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12 connected to the conveyor drive pulley 14 is disconnected.
[Effect of Example]
According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the process of manufacturing a laminate module such as a solar cell module, when the sealing resin is heated and melted for lamination, a gap is provided between the sealing resin and the upper glass of the solar cell module. Therefore, a gas such as a gas generated by heating the sealing resin is sucked by the vacuum generator using the gap as a flow path. As a result, a gas such as a gas that causes bubbles is exhausted before contact, so that there is no cause for bubbles, that is, no residual bubbles are generated. Suppression of defects such as residual bubbles is effective in improving productivity and has a positive effect on product performance and life.
(2) Since the vacuum pressure in the chamber is about 10 Pa, even if a small bubble is involved at the time of close contact, according to Boyle's law, the volume at atmospheric pressure is 10,000 minutes under the vacuum environment. Since it is compressed to about 1, residual bubbles are not generated. Suppression of defects such as residual bubbles is effective in improving productivity and has a positive effect on product performance and life.
(3) In the cross-linking step in the state where the solar cell modules are laminated, residual bubbles are not generated. Therefore, a substantial pressurization time for dissipating the bubbles as in a general laminating apparatus adopting a diaphragm method. Therefore, the time required for the laminating process can be shortened as compared with a laminating apparatus adopting a diaphragm method. Time reduction is effective in improving productivity. Furthermore, when compared with the same production volume, the apparatus can be downsized in terms of the installation area of the apparatus or the installation height of the apparatus, so that productivity per factory volume is improved and maintainability is improved.
(4) Unlike a general laminating apparatus that employs a diaphragm method, the rubber sheet is not pressed, so that the factor of applying stress when laminating is eliminated, so that stress can be suppressed. The yield improvement by reducing the stress on the product is effective for improving the productivity, and avoids the adverse effect on the performance and life of the product due to the inherent stress.
(5) Since the amount of movement of the elevating mechanism for closely attaching the surface protection member (glass) and the sealing resin and the back surface protection member (glass) can be digitally controlled by numerical management, It becomes possible to make the thickness of the filler uniform. The uniform thickness of the filler can avoid adverse effects on the performance and life of the product due to the inherent stress.
(6) Unlike the diaphragm type laminating apparatus, the rubber sheet that repeats expansion, contraction and cooling is not used, so that replacement due to deterioration is not required. Since there are no consumables to be replaced regularly, replacement time is not required, which improves productivity and maintainability.
(7) Since it is possible to employ a process in which both the protective members (surface glass and back glass) of the solar cell module are closely heated with a heater, it is possible to shorten the time for heat melting and crosslinking reaction.
(8) The conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12 that transmits power to the drive pulley 14 is disposed outside the heating chamber, and the power transmission roller 32 enters and exits the heating chamber 1 as necessary. In this case, the conveyor drive transmission mechanism 12 including the power transmission roller 32 is provided outside the heating chamber, so that the vacuum forming space inside the heating chamber 1 can be made compact and the vacuum can be easily formed. .
(9) Each motor of the lifting mechanism uses a servo motor or the like that can be numerically controlled, and the conversion ratio of the movement rate of the vertical linear movement (lifting movement) to the horizontal linear movement via the cam groove 205 Can be made as large as 1/10, for example, so that it is possible to prevent the position control accuracy of the lifting mechanism from being adversely affected by the difference in vacuum and atmospheric pressure inside and outside the heating chamber.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Heating chamber, 2 ... Module inlet shutter, 3 ... Module outlet shutter, 10 ... Input side shutter opening / closing mechanism, 11 ... Discharge side shutter opening / closing mechanism, 12 ... Conveyor drive transmission mechanism, 13 ... Steel belt, 14 ... Drive Pulley, 15 ... tension side pulley, 16 ... upper heater plate (second heater plate), 17 ... lower heater plate (first heater plate), 18 ... drive pulley lifting mechanism, 19 ... tension side pulley lifting mechanism, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Heater plate raising / lowering mechanism, 100 ... Laminate module component, 101 ... 1st protection member (glass material), 102 ... Sealing resin sheet, 103 ... 2nd protection member (glass material).

Claims (9)

The first and second protective members that are components of the laminate module and the sealing resin sheet sandwiched between the protective members are bonded and laminated together by heating and melting and crosslinking the sealing resin sheet. In the method of manufacturing a laminate module,
A step of carrying in a laminate module component in which the first protective member, the sealing resin sheet, and the second protective member are stacked in this order on a steel belt installed in a heating chamber;
A first heater plate is located on the back side of the steel belt and away from the laminating module component so as to maintain a space for bending deformation of the steel belt, and a second heater plate is disposed above the laminating module component. The heater module is positioned, and the laminate module components are heated from above and below by the radiant heat of the first and second heater plates in the evacuation process toward the target degree of vacuum. The steel belt is bent and deformed in accordance with the warpage of the first protective member, which is temporarily generated, so that the laminated module component is held in a stable state, and the first and the first generated by the warp. The gas component generated from the sealing resin sheet is evacuated through a gap between the second protective members. And the pre-heating step of removing Te,
After the preheating step, the laminate module component that has returned to warpage is continuously heated in a vacuum atmosphere by the first heater plate and the second heater plate, and then the first heater plate. In close contact with the back surface of the steel belt, the second heater plate in close contact with the second protective member, and a vacuum heating step in which heating and melting of the sealing resin sheet proceeds,
And an atmospheric heating step in which the inside of the heating chamber is opened to the atmosphere and heating by the first and second heater plates is continued to cause a crosslinking reaction in the sealing resin sheet. Module manufacturing method.   The steel belt is an endless belt wound between a drive pulley and a belt tensioning pulley, and is arranged in parallel, and before the preheating step, the laminate module component is brought to a predetermined preheating position. The method for manufacturing a laminate module according to claim 1, wherein the laminate module is used as a conveyor belt for guiding and conveying to a next process position after completion of a series of heating steps. The steel belt is an endless belt wound between a drive pulley and a belt tensioning pulley, and is arranged in parallel, and before the preheating step, the laminate module component is brought to a predetermined preheating position. Used as a transport conveyor belt for guiding and transporting to the next process position after a series of heating steps,
The power transmission pulley for supplying power to the steel belt drive pulley and the power source thereof are outside the heating chamber and separated from the steel belt drive pulley during a series of heating steps including the preheating step. When the steel belt is used as a part of the conveyor before the pre-heating process and after a series of heating processes, the power transmission pulley is controlled to move into the heating chamber and connected to the driving pulley of the steel belt. The laminate module manufacturing method according to claim 1.   In a series of heating steps including the preheating step, the relative heating height position of either one or both of the first and second heater plates with respect to the steel belt is relatively changed via an elevating mechanism. The method for manufacturing a laminate module according to claim 1, wherein the method is performed.   The laminate module is a solar cell module, one of the first and second protective members is a cell glass substrate having a light-electric conversion thin film formed on one surface, the other is tempered glass, and the sealing The method for producing a laminate module according to claim 1, wherein the resin sheet is an EVA resin sheet. The first and second protective members that are components of the laminate module and the sealing resin sheet sandwiched between the protective members are bonded and laminated together by heating and melting and crosslinking the sealing resin sheet. In a laminate module manufacturing apparatus,
A heating chamber capable of generating a vacuum environment by depressurization via a vacuum pump;
Laminate that also serves as a conveyor for a laminate module component that becomes a workpiece to be heated, and is placed in the heating chamber and laminated in the order of the first protective member, the sealing resin sheet, and the second protective member. A heating chamber on which a module component is placed and an endless steel belt used for at least vacuum heating of the workpiece is installed;
A first heater plate disposed on the back side of the steel belt;
A second heater plate disposed above the steel belt and facing the first heater plate via the steel belt;
An apparatus for manufacturing a laminate module, comprising: an elevating mechanism capable of changing a relative height position of the steel belt, the first heater plate, and the second heater plate.   A steel belt drive source for providing power to the steel belt drive pulley is disposed outside the heating chamber via a moving mechanism, and transmits power from the steel belt drive source to the drive pulley. The power transmission pulley is separated from the drive pulley and outside the heating chamber when the heating chamber is used for vacuum heating, and the heating chamber is connected to the heating chamber. The laminate module manufacturing method according to claim 6, wherein the laminate module is configured to enter the heating chamber and to be connected to the drive pulley when not being subjected to vacuum heating and in an atmospheric use state as a transfer conveyor. apparatus. The steel belt is an endless belt hung between a driving pulley and a belt tension applying pulley, and a plurality of the belts are arranged in parallel.
In addition, the upward movement of the first protective member that occurs during the heating transition period when the laminate module component is heated from below by the first heater plate via a steel belt follows the warpage. The laminate module according to claim 6, wherein the laminate module component is configured to hold the laminate module component in a stable state so that the deformation deformation of the steel belt occurs in both the length direction and the width direction of the steel belt. Manufacturing equipment.   7. The elevating mechanism uses a servo motor capable of numerical control as a power source, and has a cam groove for converting the rotation of the servo motor from a horizontal linear movement to a vertical linear movement. The manufacturing apparatus of the lamination module of description.

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