JPH09223538A - Connecting device of solar battery module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connecting-device which can prevent infiltration of rainwater, dust or the like and by which workability can be improved by simplifying connection work. SOLUTION: In this connecting device, respective plus electrodes and minus electrodes of a solar battery module laid so as to become almost the same plane, are respectively connected to a plus terminal and a minus terminal in a terminal box 10 arranged on a back face on the opposite side of a natural lighting surface of the module, and plus terminals or minus terminals of respective terminal boxes 10 and a connecting terminal of a connecting cable 30 are connected in series to each other. In this case, a pair of cylindrical sockets 20 and 20 are integrally and protrusively formed on outside surfaces of the terminal boxes 10, and connecting pins are respectively inserted into and fixed to the axis of the respective sockets 20, and plugs 33 to be fitted to and installed in the sockets 20 are connected to and formed on connecting cable 30, and connecting object pins are inserted into and fixed to the axis of the plugs 33, and the plugs 33 of the connecting cable 30 are inserted into the sockets 20 of the terminal boxs 10, and the connecting pins and the connecting object pins are electrically fitted and connected to each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connecting device used when electrically connecting solar cell modules for directly converting solar energy into electric energy.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the power generation of solar cells has been
For example, a photovoltaic power generation system adapted to be used as a power source for household electric appliances has been receiving attention. This solar power generation system is configured to supply a direct current from a solar cell panel arranged on a roof of a house or the like to each electric product via an inverter, a transformer, a storage battery, or the like.

When assembling the above solar cell panel to a roof, a plurality of solar cell modules are laid so as to form a plane, and each module is connected and fixed by metal fittings or the like, and in this state, a plus electrode of each solar cell module, Generally, the negative electrodes are connected to each other in series or in parallel by a connecting cable. When the solar cell module is installed on the roof of a house or the like, it is laid on an existing roof material or is also used as a roof material. By the way, when it is also used as a roofing material, it is necessary to connect each solar cell module in the attic where the working environment is bad, and because the solar cell panel is installed outdoors, rainwater, dust, etc. will enter and the connection part will corrode. Easy to do.

As an example of a connecting device for avoiding such problems of workability and corrosion, conventionally, a box body having a connection opening is fixed to the back surface of a solar cell module, and electrodes of each module are connected to the inside of the box body. There is one in which a connection cable is soldered and connected by screws or the like, and then the connection opening is hermetically closed with a lid. Also,
In Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 59-83057, a bus duct is arranged at the top of the roof, the lead wire of each module and the bus are connected in the bus duct, and then the upper part of the bus duct is covered with a wrapping board. What has been proposed is proposed.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional connecting device, although the problem of corrosion due to intrusion of rainwater, dust, etc. can be avoided, after the wiring work is performed in the terminal box or the bus duct, the connection opening is made. It is necessary to perform the troublesome work of closing the cover with a lid or a wrapping board,
Further improvement is required from the viewpoint of improving workability. Particularly in recent years, the demand for solar power generation systems has been rapidly increasing, and it is necessary to reduce the number of wiring work steps as much as possible in order to meet such demand.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and provides a connecting device for a solar cell module, which can prevent intrusion of rainwater, dust and the like and can simplify the wiring work and improve workability. It is an object.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the positive electrodes and the negative electrodes of a plurality of solar cell modules which are laid so as to be substantially flush with each other are arranged on the back surface on the side opposite to the lighting surface of the modules. Connected to the positive terminal and the negative terminal in the installed terminal box, respectively, the positive terminal or the negative terminal of each terminal box, and the connection terminal of the connection cable of the solar cell module to be connected in series or in parallel In the connection device, a pair of cylindrical sockets are integrally formed on the outer surface of the terminal box so as to project, and the connection pins respectively connected to the plus terminal and the minus terminal are inserted and fixed to the shaft core of each socket, and the connection is made. A plug to be fitted in the socket is formed on the cable, and the shaft core of the plug is connected to the connection terminal. Down to the insertion fixed, is characterized in that electrically is fitted and connected to the connecting pin and the connecting pin by inserting the plug of the connecting cable to the socket of the terminal box.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the plug of the connection cable is integrally formed with a flange that comes into contact with the opening end surface of the socket, and a seal ring is provided between the flange and the opening end surface. It is characterized by that.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, an engaging protrusion extending in the diametrical direction is integrally formed on the outer surface of the socket, and a cap-shaped fixed guide into which the socket is inserted into the plug is rotated. It is characterized in that it is mounted so that it can be mounted, and an engaging groove with which the above-mentioned protrusion is engaged is cut out in the fixed guide.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 12 are views for explaining a solar cell module connecting device according to an embodiment of the invention of claims 1 to 3, and FIGS. 1 to 3 are a front view and a sectional view of a terminal box, respectively. Plan views, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are front views showing one end side of the connection cable, plan views, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are front views of male pins, plan views, FIG. 8 and FIG. FIG. 10, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a connected state of a connection cable, FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a connected state of a solar cell module, and FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a photovoltaic power generation system.

The solar power generation system of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the solar cell panel 1 is arranged on the roof of the house, and the power generated from the solar cell panel 1 is transferred from the storage battery 5 to the distribution board 6 via the connection box 2, the inverter 3 and the transformer 4. It is configured to supply the electric appliances 7 ... The solar cell panel 1 is constructed by laying 10 to 50 solar cell modules 8 so as to be flush with each other, and connecting and fixing the modules 8 with a connecting member or the like not shown. The number of sheets is appropriately selected according to the battery capacity, roof area, etc.

As shown in FIG. 11, the solar electric modules 8 are connected to each other in series by the connecting device 9, and the connecting device 9 comprises a terminal box 10 and a connecting cable 30. The terminal box 10 is fixed to the rear surface 8b of each solar cell module 8 on the opposite side of the daylighting surface 8a with an adhesive, a bolt, or the like.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the terminal box 10 comprises a box-shaped insulating resin box body 11 having a connection opening 11a and a lid 12 made of the same resin for covering the connection opening 11a. The lid 12 is fastened and fixed to the box body 11 by screws 12a screwed to the four corners of the lid 12. In addition, the periphery of the connection opening 11a has the opening 11a.
A seal ring 13 that hermetically closes the space between the lid 12 and the lid 12 is attached.

Band-shaped plus terminals 14 and minus terminals 15 are arranged and fixed to the bottom wall 11b in the box body 11. One end of each of the terminals 14 and 15 is an inner surface of one side wall 11c of the box body 11. Is extended so as to abut. In addition, insertion holes 16 and 16 are formed in the lower ends of the other ends of the terminals 14 and 15 of the bottom wall 11b, and the insertion holes 16 are connected to the positive and negative electrodes of the solar cell module 8 as shown in the drawing. A lead wire not inserted is inserted, and each lead wire is electrically fastened to the plus terminal 14 and the minus terminal 15 with screws 17 and 17. Further, a diode 18 for preventing backflow of current is connected between the terminals 14 and 15.

Cylindrical sockets 20 are integrally formed on the outer wall of the side wall 11c of the box body 11 so as to project toward the terminals 14 and 15, respectively. A male connection pin 21 and a female connection pin 22 made of phosphor bronze are respectively inserted and arranged in the shaft cores of the both sockets 20, and the lower portions of the connection pins 21 and 22 are the one side wall 11c, the terminal 14 and the terminal 14, respectively.
It penetrates 15 and projects into the box body 11. A pair of diametrically extending engagement projections 20a are integrally formed on the outer surface of the socket 20, and a seal ring 23 that abuts the upper surface of the side wall 11c is attached to the outer periphery of the socket 20.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the male connection pin 21 has a bifurcated male pin portion 21a in which a notch is formed in the axial direction of a round bar, a screw at the lower portion of the pin portion 21a, and The positive terminal 1 includes a conductor portion 21b having a connection portion formed therein, and a nut 24 screwed to the conductor portion 21b.
4 is electrically connected to the box body 4 and is fastened and fixed to the box body 11.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the female connecting pin 22 has four axially extending portions every 90 degrees in the circumferential direction.
The female pin portion 22a in which a notch is formed and a conductor portion 22b in which a screw and a connection portion are formed in the lower portion of the pin portion 22a are formed. It is electrically connected to the terminal 15 and is fastened and fixed to the box body 11.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the connecting cable 30 has a structure in which a conductor wire 32 is inserted into the axis of a flexible insulating cable main body 31, and both ends of the cable main body 31. Is a cylindrical plug 33 made of insulating resin.
Is connected. A male connection pin 21 as a connected pin is inserted in the shaft core of the plug 33 on the one side, and a female connection pin 22 is inserted in the shaft core of the plug 33 on the other side. Is the male connection pin 2 described above
1, the same as the female connecting pin 22.

Each of the connection pins 21 and 22 has a conductor portion 21.
The conductors 21b, 22b are fastened and fixed to the plug 33 by nuts 24, 25 screwed to the conductors 21b, 22b.
Is the conductor wire 3 via the crimp terminal 34 as a connection terminal.
2 is soldered and connected. Further, the connecting portion of the plug 33, the crimping terminal 34, and the conductor wire 32 is airtightly crimped by a shrinking tube 35.

A flange 33a that abuts the upper surface of the socket 20 is integrally formed at the base of the plug 33, and a seal ring 36 is mounted inside the flange 33a of the plug 33. A fixed guide 37 is rotatably attached to each plug 33, and the fixed guide 37 has a cylindrical body portion 37 into which the socket 20 is inserted.
It is a cap-shaped member consisting of a and a bottom portion 37b with which the flange 33a is locked at the time of insertion, and a pair of grips 37c extending in the axial direction are integrally formed on the outer surface of the cylindrical body portion 37a.

Further, an engaging groove 38 with which the engaging protrusion 20a of the socket 20 is engaged is formed in the cylindrical portion 37a. The engaging groove 38 is formed by notching a vertical groove 38a extending axially from the end surface of the tubular portion 37a and a lateral groove 38b extending circumferentially following the vertical groove 38a.
A stopper portion 38c is formed at the base end of b. Further, a rounded surface 38d for guiding the engaging projection 20a at the time of insertion is formed at the lower edge of the vertical groove 38a.

Next, the function and effect of this embodiment will be described. The connecting device 9 is provided on the back surface 8b of the solar cell module 8.
The box body 11 is fixed in advance to the box body 11
After connecting the plus terminal 14 and the minus terminal 15 to the plus electrode and the minus electrode of the solar cell module 8 with the lead wire, the lid 12 is attached to the connection opening 11a of the box body 11 and fixed with the screw 12a. In this way, the terminal box 10 is set.

Each solar cell module 8 in which the terminal box 10 is set is laid on the roof and connected and fixed. Then, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a plurality of connection cables 30 are prepared, and the male connection pins 21 of one connection cable 30 are connected to the female connection pins 22 of the terminal box 10. Insert the plug 33 into the socket 20. Then, the male connection pin 21 and the female connection pin 22 are electrically fitted and connected, and the plug 33
The flange 33a pushes the seal ring 36 into the opening edge of the socket 20 and contacts the opening end surface of the socket 20 to seal the two.

Next, the fixed guide 37 is attached to its vertical groove 38a.
The socket 20 is inserted so that the engaging projection 20a is positioned therein, and in this state, the fixed guide 37 is rotated clockwise to fit the engaging projection 20a into the lateral groove 38b. As a result, the lower surface of the fixed guide 37 is pressed by the seal ring 23, and the engaging groove 38 is fitted into the engaging protrusion 20a, so that the fixed guide 37 is fixed to the socket 20. Further, the fixed guide 37 does not come off because the engaging projection 20a is locked to the stopper portion 38c of the engaging groove 38 upon mounting.

Next, the female connection pin 22 on the other end side of the connection cable 30 is connected to the adjacent terminal box 10 '(FIG. 1).
1) to the male connection pin 21 on the left side as viewed in the plane of the drawing in the same manner as described above. Then, the next connection cable 30 'is prepared, and the female connection pin 22 of the connection cable 30' is fitted and connected to the male connection pin 21 of the terminal box 10.
The female connecting pin 2 of the terminal box 10 '(right side in FIG. 11) adjacent to the male connecting pin 21 of 0'on the opposite side
Connect to 2. In this way, the terminal boxes 10 are connected to each other in series via the connection cable 30.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the socket 20 is integrally formed in the box body 11, and the male connection pin 21 and the female connection pin 22 connected to the solar cell module 8 are inserted and fixed in the socket, Male connection pins 2 each having a plug 33 formed at each end of the connection cable 30 and connected to a conductor wire 32 of the cable in each plug 33.
1. The female connection pin 22 is inserted and fixed, and the plug 33 is attached to the socket 20. At the same time, the male connection pin 21 and the female connection pin 22 are electrically fitted and connected. Therefore, the plug 33 is inserted as described above. It can be mechanically and electrically connected and fixed only by itself, and it can reduce the number of steps compared with the conventional wiring work by soldering or screwing, and the work in the attic can be done easily, greatly improving the workability. . As a result, it is possible to reduce labor costs and work time, and it is possible to sufficiently cope with the recent increase in demand for solar power generation systems.

Further, since the connecting portions of the connecting pins 21 and 22 are covered with the socket 20 and the plug 33, it is possible to prevent rainwater, dust and the like from entering and prevent the connecting portions from being deteriorated due to corrosion or the like.

In this embodiment, since the flange 33a that abuts the end face opening of the socket 20 is integrally formed with the plug 33 and the seal ring 36 is inserted and attached, the space between the plug 33 and the end face opening of the socket 20 is airtight. Sealing can be performed, rainwater and the like can be more reliably blocked, and the sealing performance can be further improved. Also, the reel ring 36
Since the plug 33 is inserted inside the flange 33a, the air resistance at the time of inserting the plug 33 can be relaxed, and the plug 33 can be easily attached and detached. That is, when the seal ring is attached to the insertion tip of the plug, there arises a problem that it becomes difficult to attach and detach due to air resistance during insertion and extraction.

In this embodiment, the socket 20 is provided with an engaging projection 20a, and the plug 33 is provided with a fixed guide 37.
And the engaging projection 2 is attached to the fixed guide 37.
Since the engaging groove 38 that engages with 0a is formed, the fixing guide 37 is inserted into the socket 20 and the engaging groove 38 is inserted as described above.
The plug 33 can be securely fixed to the socket 20 only by fitting the engaging protrusion 20a to the socket 20, and the reliability of mechanical and electrical connectivity can be further improved.

In the above embodiment, the case where the terminal boxes are connected to each other in series has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to the case where the terminal boxes are connected in parallel. In this case, the positive electrode and the negative electrode of each terminal box are connected. The positive terminal and the negative terminal of the connection cable are respectively connected to, and the positive terminals and the negative terminals on the other ends of the cables are connected to each other.

[0031]

As described above, according to the solar cell module connecting device of the first aspect of the present invention, a pair of cylindrical sockets are integrally formed on the outer surface of the terminal box fixed to the back surface of each module so as to project. , Inserting and fixing the connection pin to the shaft core of each socket, connecting and forming a plug fitted to the socket on the connection cable, inserting and fixing the connected pin to the shaft core of the plug, By inserting the plug of the connection cable into the socket, the connection pin and the connected pin are electrically fitted and connected.
By simply inserting the plug into the socket, the connecting pin and the pin to be connected can be fitted and connected, which has the effect of reducing the number of working steps and improving workability, and the effect of preventing corrosion due to intrusion of rainwater or dust.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the plug of the connection cable is integrally formed with a flange that comes into contact with the opening end surface of the socket, and a seal ring is provided between the flange and the opening end surface. There is an effect that the invasion can be prevented more reliably and the sealing property can be further improved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, an engaging protrusion extending in the diametrical direction is integrally formed on the outer wall of the socket, a cap-shaped fixed guide into which the socket is inserted is inserted into the plug, and the fixed guide is attached to the fixed guide. Since the engaging groove with which the protrusion engages is formed, the plug can be mechanically and electrically fixed simply by inserting and fixing the fixed guide into the socket, and the reliability of the connectivity can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a connection device for a solar cell module according to an embodiment of the invention of claims 1 to 3 with a lid of a terminal box removed.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of the terminal box (see FIG. 1).
II-II line sectional view).

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the terminal box.

FIG. 4 is a front view of one end side of a connection cable of the connection device.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the connection cable.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a male connection terminal of the connection device.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the male connection terminal.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a female connection terminal of the connection device.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the female connection terminal.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a connection state of the connection device.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a connected state of the solar cell module.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a general solar system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 8 solar cell module 8a lighting surface 8b back surface 9 connection device 10 terminal box 11 box body 12 lid 14 positive terminal 15 negative terminal 20 socket 20a engaging protrusion 21 male connection pin 22 female connection pin 30 connection cable 33 plug 33a flange 36 seal ring 37 Fixed guide 38 Engagement groove

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A positive terminal and a negative terminal in a terminal box provided on the rear surface of the solar cell module, which is laid so as to be substantially flush with each other, on the opposite side to the lighting surface of the module. Connect to the terminal respectively, and the positive terminal or negative terminal of each terminal box,
In a solar cell module connecting device in which connection terminals of a connection cable are connected in series or in parallel with each other, a pair of cylindrical sockets are integrally formed on the outer surface of the terminal box so as to project, and the shafts of the sockets are formed. Inserting and fixing the connection pins respectively connected to the plus terminal and the minus terminal to the core, and connecting and forming the plug fitted in the socket to the connection cable, and connecting to the connection terminal to the shaft core of the plug. A connection device for a solar cell module, wherein the connection pin and the connection pin are electrically fitted and connected by inserting and fixing the connection pin and inserting the plug of the connection cable into the socket of the terminal box. 2. The plug according to claim 1, wherein the plug of the connection cable is integrally formed with a flange that abuts an opening end surface of the socket, and a seal ring is provided between the flange and the opening end surface. Connection device for solar cell modules. 3. The socket according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an engagement projection extending in a diametrical direction is integrally formed on an outer wall of the socket, and a cap-shaped fixed guide into which the socket is inserted is rotatably mounted on the plug, A connection device for a solar cell module, wherein an engagement groove with which the protrusion is engaged is cut out in the fixed guide.